Justice? In Canada... don't count on it.
Family slams 90-day sentence for illegal driving
Tuesday » October 25 » 2005
Leon Vallee died after a crash with vehicle operated by Edwin Verkerk, who had no licence
Mike Sadava
The Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
LEDUC - Being involved in a fatal accident while his licence was suspended wasn't enough to keep Edwin Verkerk off the road.
In the months that followed the fiery head-on crash on Dec. 15, 2004, Verkerk was nabbed by police on two other occasions for driving while his licence was suspended.
On Monday, the 24-year-old painter from Beaumont was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to repeatedly driving without a licence.
"I don't understand fully what it will take to impress on you that you have no driver's licence and you are not to be on the road for any reason," provincial court Judge Marilyn White said.
Verkerk wasn't supposed to be driving on Dec. 15 because his licence had been suspended over an earlier careless driving conviction.
On that morning, his van collided with a Dodge Caravan driven by Leon Vallee, 57. Verkerk escaped injury but Vallee died in February after being in a coma for nearly two months.
Police stopped Verkerk on June 17 because tail lights on the vehicle he was driving weren't working. The truck, which belonged to his father, was not insured and the licence plates belonged to his brother's vehicle.
Police also found five cans of beer under the front seats and charged him with illegally transporting liquor and driving without a licence.
On June 30, he was again stopped by police and charged with driving while under suspension.
Members of Vallee's family who were in court Monday were not impressed by the sentence.
"It's a slap on the finger," said Vallee's brother, Henri.
"The end result is not what we'd like to have seen."
Leon's widow, Gisele Vallee, wondered whether Verkerk learned anything from the sentence, which will be served on weekends at the Edmonton Remand Centre to allow Verkerk to continue working at his painting job.
Verkerk had originally been charged with careless driving in relation to the accident involving Vallee but that charge has since been dropped.
His lawyer, Linda Paton, said in an interview she understands the feelings of the Vallee family. But she said the sentence is only for the licence infractions and there was no evidence that Verkerk committed any driving infractions when the crash occurred.
Paton had earlier told court that on all three occasions Verkerk was on his way to work and had no other way of getting there.
Verkerk also received a $4,600 fine for his second conviction for driving without insurance and a $115 fine for having the beer improperly stowed in the car.
msadava@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2005
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This is the man that killed my godfather almost a year ago. Yay for the Canadian justice system!!