A 41-year-old New Westminster man has been sentenced to four years in prison and banned from driving for four years for driving drunk and killing a 69-year-old grandmother who was on walk in Burnaby while on a visit to see her son and new grandchild.
Roberto Gil Francisco was driving his BMW sedan at about 167 km/h in the 4100 block of Lougheed Highway when the vehicle jumped the curb and fatally struck Louise Landreth, a retired Harrington, Ont. accountant who had been visiting family in the Brentwood area, according to agreed facts presented at a sentencing hearing in Vancouver Supreme Court last month.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
At sentencing, Crown prosecutor Mark Myhre said Francisco had been caught on video “driving like a maniac” on Kingsway, Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed in the hour before the BMW hit Landreth and sheered a light standard before coming to rest.
Myhre said Francisco should be sent to prison for four to five years and be banned from driving for 10 years.
Defence lawyer Kevin Westell called for a two-year jail sentence and a two-year driving ban.
But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janet Winteringham said that wouldn’t be enough.
In a ruling Friday morning, Winteringham sentenced Francisco to four years in prison and a four-year driving ban.
As aggravating factors she noted, first, his troubling, though dated, driving history, which includes five 24-hour roadside prohibitions when he was in his 20s.
She also noted Francisco’s blood-alcohol level had been more than twice the legal limit and his driving in the hour before the crash had shown a “wanton and reckless disregard for others.”
“He is not someone who went out to a pub to drink and then hopped in his car to get home,” Winteringham said. “His driving reflects a callousness as he drove through residential neighbourhoods in Burnaby from Kingsway to Lougheed to Willingdon.”
Finally, Winteringham pointed to the impact Francisco’s crimes have had on Landreth’s family and friends.
“The depths of the despair was apparent in the words of the victim impact statements … Each was stirring, each in its own way heartbreaking,” Winteringham said.
As mitigating factors she noted Francisco’s “genuine remorse” and his guilty plea, as well as the fact that he has quit drinking and attends Alcoholics Anonymous.
She also noted he has maintained full-time employment and supports his young daughter and his sister and parents.
After delivering her sentence, Winteringham said she was hopeful Francisco would find a way to forgive himself.
She ended her sentence by addressing Landreth’s family and friends.
“There is no doubt that Louise Landreth was a remarkable human being,” she said. “May those who loved her find some peace.”
With files from Jeremy Hainsworth.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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