Crown seeking almost two years jail time for Surrey crash that killed two, injured one
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 20:38:49 +0000
The driving conditions were terrible. It was shortly after midnight on a windy November night, and heavy rain was falling, pooling on the street.
That didn’t stop Nicolas Karvouniaris from accelerating to 167 kph — more than three times the speed limit — on a residential street in Surrey. Seconds later, he lost control of his Jeep, jumped the median and slammed into a Ford almost head on.
Two people ended up dead and a third was left with devastating injuries.
“The level of recklessness given the weather conditions … screamed for caution, prudence and slowing down,” Crown prosecutor Winston Sayson said at a sentencing hearing that is under way Thursday for Karvouniaris in B.C. provincial court in Surrey.
Karvouniaris, 26, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The crash happened in the 13400-block of 88th Ave. on Nov. 4, 2018. Karvouniaris was heading west, and 50-year-old Sarah Dhillon was driving her Ford Escape east. Dhillon had her son in the passenger seat, and Paige Nagata and Livia Kilian in the back.
At the time of impact, police calculated that Karvouniaris had actually slowed to 127 kph, and Dhillon was going 60 kph. The driver’s side of the Ford took the brunt of the impact, scattering vehicle parts — including wheel assemblies, tires and other debris — across the road.
Dhillon, a maternity ward nurse, mother and wife of an Abbotsford police officer, was killed on impact.
Nagata suffered traumatic brain injury, a lung contusion, and sternum and rib fractures. The 19-year-old died from her injuries 15 days after the crash. Kilian had a traumatic brain injury, liver laceration, shattered spleen and multiple rib fractures. Kilian was in court on Thursday. Dhillon’s son had a head injury.
The accused, Nicolas Karvouniaris, at the Surrey Courthouse.
“There is not a single person standing behind me that needs to be here today and shed their tears, but for the misconduct of the accused,” Sayson told the court, referring to the almost 100 family members and friends who were in the courtroom.
The Crown is seeking a sentence of 22 to 24 months, followed by 18 to 24 months of probation and a driving prohibition.
Sayson said Karvouniaris has a high degree of moral culpability in the case, in particular given the excessive speed he was travelling shortly before and at the time of the crash.
Karvouniaris has nine previous driving infractions from across Metro Vancouver. They include violating a restriction on his driver’s licence, speeding (four tickets), running a red light, disobeying a traffic sign or signal, and using an electronic device while driving. Sayson said he also has a number of prohibitions.
“The question screams to be answered: How many times does the accused need to be warned to stop speeding?” Sayson said.
Working in Karvouniaris’ favour is his early guilty plea, cooperation with the investigation, and “significant remorse and sorrow for the carnage that he caused,” Sayson said. Karvouniaris will also likely face lawsuits and deal with licensing and insurance consequences. He has been seeing a counsellor.
MORE TO COME…