Source: CJOB.com
MANITOBA - Justice Joan McKelvey has delivered her sentence in the case of a man who ran over and killed a 12 year-old.
The judge said she had a difficult decision in handing a conditional sentence to Pernell Guimond for dangerous driving causing death. He ran over 12-year old Brent Guimond on a dark curving highway in a no passing zone in August 2006. The boy and Pernell Guimond are not related.
The RCMP said Guimond was driving 95 kilometres per hour in a 70 zone and had consumed some alcohol at a party leading up to the crash.
The Crown pushed for a two year sentence saying a message must be sent to the community. When the life of a 12-year old boy is taken away for no other reason than foolishness, it will be dealt with harshly.
Justice Joan McKelvey says Guimond is a candidate for a conditional sentence saying he is appropriately remorseful, a low risk to reoffend, and only has one other minor related criminal conviction.
Source: Winnipeg Sun
Jail urged for speeding driver Pernell Guimond in 12-year-old Brent Guimond's death
Speeding driver ran over 12-year-old because of 'foolishness,' says Crown
MANITOBA - Pernell Guimond made a conscious choice when he passed a slow-moving vehicle on a dark curving highway and ran over 12-year-old Brent Guimond, a judge was told yesterday.
And the price of that decision should be two years in jail, Crown attorney Debbie Buors said.
A message must be sent to the community that "when the life of a 12-year-old boy is taken away for no other reason than foolishness you will be dealt with harshly," Buors said.
Pernell Guimond, 41, was convicted last spring of dangerous driving causing death. He was acquitted of an additional count of criminal negligence causing death.
Brent Alan Guimond, no relation, died Aug. 23, 2006, after he was struck by Pernell Guimond's Chrysler New Yorker on Highway 11 near Fort Alexander. That portion of the highway was a no-passing zone.
At his trial, court heard evidence Pernell Guimond had spent the preceding hours partying with his friend and passenger Wayne LaForte and had consumed at least some alcohol.
The posted speed limit at the crash site is 70 km/h. An RCMP traffic analyst estimated Guimond was travelling 95 km/h or faster at the time of impact.
LaForte testified Guimond was driving in the westbound lane "really fast" when he came up behind a slow-moving van. When Guimond moved to pass the van, LaForte said he saw two children walking in the middle of the eastbound lane.
Guimond swerved sharply into the ditch, but not before colliding with the young boy.
In a victim impact statement, Brent's mother Jennifer Guimond described searching for Brent after he failed to return home.
"I spoke to the police at what I thought was a check stop, asking if they had seen Brent," Guimond told court. "I was told: 'There has been an accident. Brent didn't make it.' My world fell apart and I ran away. It was not real, the police were wrong.
Never came home
"I kept saying this is not true, my visitors who came to cry with me were wrong and Brent would come home. He never did."
The most significant factor in the collision was Pernell Guimond's choice to pass a car in a no-passing zone, not speed or alcohol, said defence lawyer Bruce Bonney, who argued his client should receive a conditional sentence of under two years.
Bonney said the court had no evidence his client was impaired by alcohol and argued his "moral blameworthiness" was less than that of someone who runs a red light.
Court heard Pernell Guimond contemplated suicide following the collision and has quit drinking.
"It was an accident," Guimond told court, choking back tears. "I will live with this for the rest of my life. I'm sorry."
Justice Joan McKelvey will sentence Guimond Jan. 12.
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