A 67-year-old man was sentenced to a $2,000 fine for an accident at a Burnaby casino parkade that left a 74-year-old pedestrian with "life-changing" injuries, including a fractured skull.
Vancouver resident Weeton Yee was in B.C. provincial court Wednesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention.
The charge was related to an incident in the Grand Villa Casino parkade on Aug. 31, 2023.
Yee was backing up his Honda CRV and failed to see Sau Szeto walking behind him, according to agreed facts presented by Crown prosecutor Lee Vandergust.
He hit her, knocking her to the ground where she hit her head, sustaining a skull fracture.
The head injury resulted in multiple brain surgeries, seizures, memory loss and brain bleeds, according to Vandergust.
She said Szeto, who had been active, independent and in good health before the accident, had only recently regained some ability to care for herself.
A victim impact statement from Szeto’s son, Wilson, said the accident has been "life-changing" for his mother and her family.
But Vandergust and defence lawyer Jeremy Allingham agreed Yee should be sentenced to a $2,000 with no driving ban.
Vandergust described the incident as a "true accident" involving a "brief, momentary lapse" on Yee's part.
Allingham said it "could have happened to anyone" and was not due to speed, impairment or recklessness.
Allingham said Yee agrees he should have used more care and attention when he reversed his car.
"He is devastated," Allingham said.
He noted Yee doesn't have a criminal record, co-operated fully with the investigation, pleaded guilty and has already completed a remedial driving safety course.
Allingham said Yee also needs a driver's licence because he is the sole caregiver to his wife.
Yee's wife had also been an active, independent woman until last February, when complications during a routine operation left her essentially deaf and blind and prone to strokes, according to Allingham.
Yee choked up as he apologized to Szeto and her family for the life-altering impact of the accident.
"I know what it's like," he said.
Judge Jennifer Oulton said she accepted the sincerity of Yee's apology and remorse.
She also noted the generosity of Wilson Szeto's victim impact statement, which she said clearly expressed the impact of the accident on his mother and family without "vilifying" Yee.
In all of the circumstances, Oulton said the proposed sentence was appropriate, and she sentenced him to a $2,000 fine.
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