The Calgary driver charged with fatally hitting a woman walking her dog last winter in the city’s northwest isn’t facing a licence suspension or prohibition, but is facing a large fine.
Dawn Chiasson was struck by a pickup truck on the morning of Jan. 9, 2019, in Mount Pleasant.
She was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition, where she died days later, on Jan. 20.
At the time, police said the driver of the truck stayed at the scene, and alcohol and drugs weren’t considered factors in the collision.
Wesley Kevin Harder was found guilty Thursday of failing to yield to a pedestrian under the Traffic Safety Act.
He was ordered to pay a fine of $1,500, which must be paid by March 1, 2021.
Harder spoke briefly during the sentencing Thursday, saying he was “so sorry that this happened.”
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“I have no words to express how I feel on this,” he said.
“It’s awful trying to relive this as I’m sure it is for you. I’m very sorry, I wish I could turn back time and make it right.”
Chiasson’s sister Darcy MccLellan and nephew Todd Postlethwaite were at the sentencing hearing, and in her victim impact statement, MccLellan said their “family will forever be incomplete” without Chiasson.
Outside the court following the sentencing, she said it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that no criminal charges were laid when they’ve lost their loved one.
“I think the defence were trying to suggest this was an accident, and yeah, it was an accident, but it was also a collision that cost a life,” MccLellan said. “Accidents are preventable. We need to all go out and be aware that at any moment we could cause an accident that is fatal.”
She said she’s become hyper-vigilant while driving, especially in the mornings.
Postlethwaite said he believes the judge was fair and compassionate about the nature of the tragedy in coming to a final decision.
He said he understands that criminality comes with intent, and they know Harder didn’t intend to kill Chiasson when he got in his truck that morning.
“I don’t think there’s any sense in wanting a stricter punishment for this individual and feeling that he deserves worse,” Postlethwaite said.
“But it is just the recognition that we can become very lax when it comes to getting behind our vehicles, and even a momentary lapse in attention or just a casual approach to the way that we drive, can result in someone’s life being lost, and peoples’ lives, who are connected to the individual, being permanently changed.”
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