The Ontario Supreme Court of Justice in Chatham, seen on March 18, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)The Ontario Supreme Court of Justice in Chatham, seen on March 18, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
Chatham

Sentencing date set for guilty truck driver

A sentence of 18 months in jail could be looming for the truck driver responsible for the deaths of an Amherstburg mother and son on Highway 401 last summer.

The official sentence is expected to be handed down October 10 for 52-year-old Manjit Parmar of Brampton, who pleaded guilty to five charges in connection with the fatal crash on the 401 in July 2017. The multi-vehicle collision claimed the lives of 42-year-old Lacie Brundritt and her 14-year-old son Kyle.

Victim impact statements were read in court Tuesday morning. The Crown and defence then filed a joint submission for a sentence of 18 months in jail followed by just under a year of probation. The judge in the case will now take some time to go over the submissions and expects to deliver an official decision in just over three weeks.

There weren't many dry eyes in the courtroom as family members of the deceased along with other victims involved in the crash read their victim impact statements.

The most emotional of them came from Mike Brundritt, the husband and father of the victims. He said his life will now forever be split into two chapters, before and after the crash. He talked about the emotional, physical, and financial impacts the accident has had on him. He said he has dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts since he lost his wife and son. The only thing preventing him from hurting himself is his surviving 10-year-old son, Evan. He added the crash has left him with back problems which he may never truly recover from and he can't perform his job the way he used to.

In the end, the teary-eyed father offered his forgiveness to Parmar, something not everyone who took the stand was prepared to do. Lacie's brother, William Mower, asked Parmar how it felt to be a woman and child murderer, which quickly prompted Justice Kowalyshyn to interrupt and ask that he calm down.

Another heart-wrenching statement came from Felicia George, who was Kyle's girlfriend. She talked about waiting for Kyle to get back from the camping trip with his family that day and how mad she was at him for not returning her text messages. She said she felt guilty and selfish once she found out it was because he died. She added her life has never been the same since.

One thing which was made apparent by each statements was that Lacie was an amazing woman and Kyle was a funny, smart, athletic young man with a bright future ahead of him.

Parmar was given the opportunity to speak and kept it very short, simply apologizing for the pain he has caused.

Both lawyers agreed on the sentence length, but the only disagreement seemed to be whether Parmar should be ordered to give a DNA sample. Defence attorney Alan Gold said Parmar didn't intend to harm anyone, he wasn't using a device to distract himself, and he had no alcohol or drugs in his system.

Judge Kowalyshyn needed time to consider the impact statements and whether he feels a DNA sample is necessary.

BACKGROUND: Trucker to be sentenced for role in fatal crash

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