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An Invermere, B.C., woman has been sentenced to two years in prison, less a day, for a rollover crash in July 2024 that resulted in the deaths of three men.
The B.C. Supreme Court found that Haley Watson had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit at the time of the deadly crash near Wilmer, B.C. on July 9, 2024.
In a sentencing decision posted on Monday, Justice Lindsay Lyster said that the deaths of the three men — 25-year-olds Brady Tardif and Jackson Freeman, and 21-year-old Gavin Murray — affected not just their families, but the wider community.
While Crown prosecutors had sought a five-year prison sentence for Watson, who the court heard was driving 118 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, Lyster found she had expressed significant remorse since the crash and attended counselling and rehabilitation sessions.
“This was a traumatic event with tragic consequences,” Lyster said in her sentencing decision.
“With time, continued support and treatment, I believe that Ms. Watson will be able to consistently take full responsibility for her actions, and to use her experience to help others.”
Watson’s prison time will be followed by a three-year probation period. She pleaded guilty to one count of impaired driving causing death.
She was also sentenced to 240 hours of community service as part of her probation, and given a three-year driving prohibition.
No previous driving offences
The court heard that Watson had no previous driving offences at the time of the crash, and was a novice driver.
On July 9, 2024, she had been invited by Murray to his Wilmer home for a gathering. At the time, she had already had a meal with friends and drank two cans of an alcoholic beverage, according to an agreed statement of facts.
Wilmer is a rural community around five kilometres north of Invermere, in the Kootenays.
The judgment states that when Watson arrived at Murray’s home, she chatted and listened to music with the three men for around two hours — after which they decided to go to Invermere and buy more alcohol.
Watson agreed to take the men in her truck, according to the decision, and they were travelling south on Westside Road when the crash happened.
It came at a curve in the road, where the speed limit was reduced to 50 km/h. The court heard the truck rolled down an embankment and hit a power pole just after 10:30 p.m.
The court heard that the crash happened at a curve on Westside Road where the suggested speed was 50 km/h. (Google Maps)
“All four occupants suffered catastrophic injuries. Mr. Tardif, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Murray were all pronounced dead at the scene,” the decision reads.
“Ms. Watson was extracted from the truck and transported to Invermere & District Hospital with life-threatening injuries.”
Mitigating factors
The court heard from friends and family of the deceased, who said they remained traumatized by their deaths.
“Some have moved, unable to remain in homes that now remind them daily of those they have lost. Others have had their physical health negatively impacted by the stress and grief,” Lyster wrote.
The judge said that Watson’s offence was one where she bore a high degree of moral responsibility.
However, she also received more than 30 letters of support, testifying that Watson had since stopped drinking and attended counselling sessions at a treatment centre.
“A sentence of this length will enable the court to impose a lengthy probation order, which I believe will best assist Ms. Watson in continuing on her path to rehabilitation,” Lyster concluded.