Horrendously Grave Accidents and Societal Debts

Full justice can never be attained for victims. They will forever be victims. And in the particular instance of the group of five cyclist friends who were riding single-file, on a lovely summer morning on July 19, 2009 on March Road in Ottawa on their way to a 100-kilometre round-trip to Pakenham, the untoward events of that morning will be forever with them.

They were so horribly injured when a van driver, Sommit Luangpakham, smashed into them, hitting them one after the other, life can never return to 'normal' for them.

Hilary McNamee suffered a broken clavicle, hip and femur and suffered from post-traumatic stress. Mark White suffered a brain injury and spinal fracture, and now deals with short-term memory loss and diminished concentration. Rob Harland suffered fractures, internal bleeding and head injury.

Cathy Anderson, once a triathlete, suffered a shattered left elbow and pelvis fracture in three places, and has undergone four surgeries. Robert Wein, another triathlete and Ms. Anderson's partner, suffered a near-fatal brain injury, requires round-the-clock care and is "medically retired". He uses a walker, suffers double vision, has difficulty reading.

Mr. Luangpakham, in his defence pleaded: "I never did anything wrong except this terrible accident and injury to five people. I didn't mean to do it. Please don't put me in jail." His family, he said, has amassed a "terrible debt", following the crash. "I'm not worried about myself, but I am worried about my family", he said.

This is the man who, after an all-night party with friends, chose to get into his van to make the trip back home. Who explained that he had momentarily fallen asleep at the wheel. And the next thing he was aware of was that he had likely hit something inanimate, a post, in all likelihood. He hadn't realized, he said, he had hit anyone, much less five cyclists.

When he awoke, he said, he saw his windshield was smashed, his hood was dented, both his rear-view and side mirror were gone. And he continued to drive on. Blood, hair and pieces of a shattered bicycle helmet were found on and in the van. He drove home, parked the van in his garage and thought he would deal with things at some other time.

"I wish I could turn back time so I could do things differently", he said to those whose lives he had shattered. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Superior Court Justice Monique Metivier said she sympathized with Mr. Luangpakham's feelings of remorse. A jury had last fall found him guilty of the charges laid against him, and she now pronounced his sentence. Two years less a day in jail. And banned him from driving for a year. He had, she said, failed to comport with standards of "humanity and decency", by failing to stop .

"In his wake, he left five seriously injured cyclists, their bicycles twisted and bent and their bodies broken and bleeding. All drivers must know of the duty to stop and render assistance if they have been in an accident where a person has been injured. That very important duty was not met here."

Found guilty of five counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and five counts of failing to remain at the scene of a collision, he will spend two years in prison.

Three seconds was all it took to change the lives of five fit young people forever. Mr. Luangpakhanm must now pay his debt to society. The two years will pass and he will have "learned his lesson", in the words of Robert Wein who faces a lifetime of loss of executive function.

"Obviously, for us, our impact is truly a lifetime impact. But I'm not the kind of person who would wish the same thing on someone else", said Cathy Anderson.