A 58-year-old man has been sentenced to a $1,000 fine and three months of probation in a crash that killed a 34-year-old motorcyclist in Burnaby last year.
James Robert Morgan pleaded guilty in Vancouver provincial court Friday to one count of driving without due care and attention.
The Motor Vehicle Act charge relates to a collision at Douglas Road and Laurel Street on Feb. 8, 2023 that fatally injured motorcyclist Jesse Dean (J.D.) Hayes, according to agreed facts presented in court by Crown prosecutor Mark Myhre.
At 6:16 a.m. that day, Morgan was driving his Hyundai Elantra east on Laurel Street and had stopped at a stop sign at Douglas Road.
Hayes was on his motorcycle riding south on Douglas Road behind a white SUV.
Once the SUV had passed the intersection, Morgan pulled out to cross Douglas Road, not seeing the motorcycle.
Hayes, who didn't have a stop sign or light at Laurel Street, smashed into the driver's side door of the Elantra and was killed instantly, according to the facts.
Morgan pulled over and cooperated with police and later took responsibility for the crash "as early as possible," according to Myhre.
Myhre and defence lawyer West Pryde both called for a $1,000 and three months of probation with a ban on driving except for work purposes.
B.C. provincial court Judge Delaram Jahani agreed to the sentence, calling the crash an "extremely tragic accident" resulting from a "momentary lapse of attention" by someone whose driving record has been otherwise spotless for nearly 30 years.
Jahani noted a "heart wrenching" victim impact statement written by Hayes's widow, Rachel Judd.
Judd said J.D. was her best friend, confidante and greatest champion.
She said he was "intelligent, witty, loving and full of life."
On Feb. 8, 2023, he had left to run an errand while she was still in bed, she said.
When he didn't return, she said she felt an "overwhelming sense of dread" and called his phone repeatedly, pinging its location to just up the street.
"Finally, two officers came to our home to deliver the news I dreaded," she said.
"The gravity of loss was so immense that none of it felt real."
From the very beginning, Judd said, her heart went out to Morgan.
She expressed her concern in her statement.
"Mr. Morgan, I want you to find peace and forgiveness within yourself," she said. "I do not want you to feel burdened by this tragedy any longer. I hope that you can move forward with a sense of healing and compassion, knowing that I hold no ill will toward you."
Morgan, a City of Burnaby painter and father of three who has been married for 32 years, said he felt "terrible" for the pain and loss he caused.
"I wish I could go back and undo what happened that day, but I can’t," he said. "All I can do is offer my deepest apologies. I know my words can't bring Mr. Hayes back, but I want you to know I’m truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me."
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