The family of a Richmond woman who was killed in a fatal collision outside the George Massey Tunnel in September 2020 received some closure on Wednesday.
Sundeep Singh Mann, 42, was sentenced to jail for two years less one day for dangerous driving.
Mann's sentencing hearing took place last Friday, June 28. He was put in handcuffs and taken away after receiving his sentence at Richmond Provincial Court.
Richmond Provincial Court Judge Diana Vandor described the facts of the case as "horrible and heartbreaking."
"This is not just another example of the destructive, injurious and deathly impact of dangerous driving on Canadian society. There were almost 50 case examples during the sentencing hearing," said Vandor.
"This is about the Tran family. And their grief is vivid and heart-wrenching."
Shortly after midnight on Sept. 2, 2020, Mann's white SUV crossed the centre line and collided with the vehicle driven by 61-year-old victim Ky Tran just outside the north end of the George Massey Tunnel.
Tran was pronounced dead at the scene and her husband was sent to hospital with serious injuries.
During the June 28 sentencing hearing, the court heard the northbound lane was closed for maintenance work and traffic for both directions was reduced to one lane each. The speed limit was reduced to 60 kilometres per hour.
Witnesses recalled observing Mann bypassing traffic inside the tunnel and saw the digital speed reader indicate he was driving at 109 km/h. Alcohol was found in Mann's blood when he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Mann pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation causing death and one count of dangerous operation causing bodily harm.
"Offenders in driving cases are frequently like Mr. Mann, pro-social persons who have little or no prior contact with the criminal justice system," said Vandor.
"The consequences of dangerous driving are rarely intended, but the risk-taking that produced them is undertaken by choice."
She added sentences imposed for such offences are designed to denounce the reckless behaviour and deter others from engaging in dangerous driving behaviours that "all too often cause tragedies just like this."
"One case in point, what happened this weekend in West Vancouver," said Vandor.
Conditional sentence insufficient for the offence
Four main aggravating factors were considered: Mann's driving record with temporary driving prohibitions and speeding offences; Mann's pattern of driving at the time, including driving at almost double the speed limit and having alcohol in his blood; the fact that he caused the death of one person and injured another; as well as the impact on the victims.
Mitigating factors included Mann's early guilty plea, expressions of remorse, lack of prior criminal record and strong support from family and friends. Vandor also considered Mann's attempts to mitigate his offence after the collision but gave them less weight.
She found the gravity of Mann's offences to be "very high" and he had a high degree of responsibility and moral culpability for the actions he took on the night of the collision.
Vandor agreed with the prosecution that a two-year jail sentence was appropriate for causing Tran's death but decided to sentence him to one less day so he could serve his sentence in a provincial institution.
He would also serve 18 months in jail concurrently for causing bodily harm to Tran's husband, plus a five-year driving ban.
While defence sought a conditional sentencing order served in the community, which would include house arrest, Vandor disagreed.
She found the disruption of Mann's family unit should not be considered a mitigating consequence of his offending.
"... his damaged family relationships were the entirely predictable result of his offence, which rendered his family members, including his children his secondary victims," said Vandor, adding jail in a provincial institution in B.C. will allow him to be closer to his children.
Defence's proposed sentence was not sufficient for the purposes of denunciation and deterrence, said Vandor, who explained Mann made "choices to drive in an exceptionally dangerous manner."
Sentence should be longer, says victim's family
Addressing the media outside the courthouse, Tran's daughter Lisa Tran said she was "pretty happy" with the outcome.
"We were scared that it wasn't going to be that long, but it turned out that she gave him two years less one day, which was amazing," she said.
However, the family thinks the sentence should be longer.
"I just don't think two years is long enough for somebody that made the choice to drink, made the choice to get into a car, and made all the choices themselves. You know, you have a choice. You can drink, yes, but just don't drive," Lisa explained.
"I do feel that he should have a longer sentence, just because he actually killed somebody."
Ut Yue, Tran's sister, had doubts about Mann's remorse.
"I think he wasn't remorseful, because if he was remorseful he would have quit drinking right after he killed my sister," she said.
"Two years, he gets out, he gets to take care of his kids, see them, while (Tran's) missed out on all (her) grandchildren's big moments and (her) kids as well."
The family still suffers from the aftermath almost four years after the tragedy, but Mann's sentencing has brought them some relief, they say.
"It's final closure for us. We feel better now that we don't have to worry about courts anymore and all this stuff," said Lisa.
Tran was the "best mom (one) could ever ask for," she said.
"We'll never forget her. We'll always think about her, but it's just that we don't have to worry about listening to what happened again and going through all this again."
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