{"id":100299,"date":"2017-04-29T03:34:26","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T07:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=100299"},"modified":"2017-04-29T03:34:26","modified_gmt":"2017-04-29T07:34:26","slug":"b-c-drunk-driver-gets-more-than-eight-years-for-killing-three-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/04\/29\/b-c-drunk-driver-gets-more-than-eight-years-for-killing-three-people\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. drunk driver gets more than eight years for killing three people"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A British Columbia man who killed two cyclists and a passenger in his own vehicle while driving drunk along a winding, mountain highway north of Whistler has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison. (Photo: Petras Gagilas\/Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

VANCOUVER \u2014 A British Columbia man who killed two cyclists and a passenger in his own vehicle while driving drunk along a winding, mountain highway north of Whistler has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.<\/p>\n

Samuel Alec pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court in February to three counts of impaired driving causing death after he mowed down cyclists Ross Chafe and Kelly Blunden who were out for a weekend ride in May 2015 Alec’s friend in the passenger seat of the vehicle, Paul Pierre, was also killed.<\/p>\n

The court heard that Alec, 46, was returning home to Lillooet along Highway 99 after a \u201clengthy binge of drinking\u201d following a friend’s funeral.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a clear, sunny day. The cyclists were fully within their own lane,\u201d Justice William Ehrcke said Friday, reading his decision. \u201cThe reason for the accident was that Mr. Alec was impaired by alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Alec was not just impaired. His ability to drive was grossly impaired,\u201d Ehrcke added, describing Alec’s blood-alcohol level as three times the legal limit.<\/p>\n

Alec will remain in prison for a further six years after 28 months of credit is given for time he served awaiting trial. The judge also ordered that Alec be banned from driving for 15 years beyond his sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe offences you have committed have caused great harm and terrible suffering,\u201d the judge told Alec, who breathed deeply and dabbed his eyes with tissue.<\/p>\n

Chafe’s cousin John Rufh said his family was disappointed with the sentence, calling it \u201cnot right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had hoped that we’d get 12, maybe 10 (years). But he got eight, less time served, which is six,\u201d said Rufh outside the court, adding that his family will experience a lifetime of pain while Alec is out in just a few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look in the papers. Someone who deals drugs is getting 18 years. Here’s a guy who killed three people and he’s getting eight years. What does that say about our society?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pierre’s younger brother Dion Pierre was also present to hear the judge’s ruling and said he was hoping for a higher sentence, but that no length of time would bring his brother back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t put a value on a loved one,\u201d he said outside court. \u201cI miss him. I miss him and I love him and I wish he was here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prosecution had asked for a 12-year sentence, while his defence lawyer argued four years would be more appropriate.<\/p>\n

At his sentencing hearing last month, Alec tearfully apologized to the families of the men he killed, saying that he would never be able to make up for the pain and suffering he caused after driving into the two cyclists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I am to blame and I take full responsibility for my actions. I am sorry for what I have done,\u201d Alec told the court in late March.<\/p>\n

Crown prosecutor Adrienne Lee said the sentence was lower than she had hoped but that it was still a significant amount of time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VANCOUVER \u2014 A British Columbia man who killed two cyclists and a passenger in his own vehicle while driving drunk …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":100300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1482,18,16],"tags":[18475],"class_list":["post-100299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking","category-news-ca","category-news","tag-cyclists","mauthors-geordon-omand","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}