A Vancouver judge didn't mince words describing the "appalling" driving record of a 28-year old man who killed two teens when his car slammed into theirs on the Burnaby-New Westminster border two years ago.
Cory Robert Brown was in B.C. provincial court Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty last week to two counts of criminal negligence causing death.
The charges relate to a horrific crash at 10th Avenue and Sixth Street on July 26, 2022 that killed Vancouver's Samir Oliyad Suleiman Ali, 18, and Burnaby's Yasbirat Mesfin Ytatek, 17.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police had tried to pull Brown over at about 11 p.m. that night after they saw him driving "erratically," but Brown didn't stop; instead, he turned down 10th Avenue and sped off, reaching speeds of up to 165 km/h before the crash, according to agreed facts presented in court.
At the time of the collision, Brown hadn't had a valid driver's licence for seven years and was banned from driving because of previous dangerous driving convictions, according to agreed facts presented in court.
And, while on bail for the deadly crash, he racked up more charges for dangerous driving, driving while prohibited, breaching his bail, and possessing a prohibited weapon, a stun gun.
"His conduct since the offence, including another dangerous driving offence, demonstrates that even after this horrific tragedy, he either has not or cannot make the changes required to ensure that this does not happen again," B.C. provincial court Judge Patricia Bond said during Brown's sentencing.
Bond sentenced Brown to a total of five-and-a-half years in prison and banned him from driving for 10 years.
As aggravating factors, she noted Brown's "extensive" criminal record, including numerous prior driving offences, as well as the devastating impact of the fatal crash on the teens' families.
The only mitigating factor in the case was Brown's guilty plea, Bond said
She said she had taken into consideration Brown's Indigenous background.
Before the end of the hearing, Bond said a prison sentence "pales in comparison" to the pain of Ali's and Ytatek's families.
"There is no equation to be drawn between the penalty imposed on Mr. Brown for criminal negligence and the magnitude of the loss suffered by the victims of this tragedy," she said.
"No matter what the sentence is, it can do nothing to bring back Samir and Yasbir, the victims of this tragedy, nor should it be taken in any way as putting any particular value on human life; that is impossible."
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