A 66-year-old Surrey man has been sentenced to six months of house arrest and an 18-month driving prohibition for his role in a hit-and-run crash that killed a motorcyclist three years ago.
Roger Gerald Joseph Dionne was making a left turn on King George Boulevard near 73 Avenue on the evening of May 10, 2019, when he struck 53-year-old Perbinderjit Rana, who soon died from his injuries.
Dionne "did not immediately flee the scene" according to a decision on sentencing issued last week and posted online Wednesday.
Instead, "he parked his truck, got out of it, and assisted someone in standing Mr. Rana's bike upright," wrote Justice Palbinder Kaur Shergill in the decision.
Dionne then returned to his truck, used an inhaler and, "after surveying the scene" drove to Tim Hortons before heading home. He did not provide his name and address or offer assistance to Rana, who was being tended to by bystanders.
He turned himself in the following day, when he heard on the radio that Surrey RCMP were seeking a vehicle matching the description of his truck.
After a trial, Dionne was convicted on May 9 for failing to remain at the scene of an accident where death resulted.
His lawyers had asked the court not to impose a driving prohibition as part of the sentence, arguing that doing so would "severely impact" Dionne's employment.
Shergill rejected this argument.
"Despite the significant mitigating circumstances in this case, the fact remains that Mr. Dionne is convicted of a very serious offence," she wrote in the decision.
The judge also rejected the Crown's argument that Dionne should be sentenced to jail time, again citing the significant mitigating circumstances in the case.
Shergill noted that Dionne had no previous criminal record and had not committed a motor vehicle infraction in eight years.
She also noted that he has "multiple and significant health concerns" and is currently undergoing cancer treatment.
Crown prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of three to six months, followed by a two-year driving prohibition.
In delivering her decision on Dionne's sentence, Shergill acknowledged the impact his actions had had on Rana's family.
"This court read and heard the heart-wrenching victim impact statements from his children, wife, mother, and siblings," she wrote. "Their pain and loss are enormous and their suffering immeasurable. No amount of punishment to Mr. Dionne will ever ameliorate the loss experienced by Mr. Rana’s family from his tragic death."
"Rather than staying at the scene of the accident, Mr. Dionne panicked and fled. Though he did eventually turn himself in, there is no doubt that those hours before he did so must have been excruciatingly painful for (Rana's) family."
