Watch above: A young offender involved in a double fatal vehicle crash in downtown Saskatoon last year has been sentenced to three years in jail. Meaghan Craig explains why the youth will be out in a mere matter of months.
SASKATOON – It is a new year but for the families of Sarah Wensley and James Haughey time came to a halt the day the two 17-year-old teens were killed instantly on May 5, 2014. The vehicle they were travelling in was slammed into by a stolen truck and twisted around the corner of a building on Avenue M and 22nd Street West.
Inside the stolen truck , a passenger who told the driver to “just go” when they spotted police. She was 17 at the time of the collision which is why she was sentenced as a young offender in court on Thursday to the maximum sentence of three years for her involvement.
“I don’t think it was reasonable, someone that goes against the law like that and gets so little time is not reasonable for me or for anyone else and I don’t think anybody should get away with it,” said Kara, 17, the sole survivor from the vehicle that day as the three teens were on their way to a track and field practice.
On Thursday, court heard Kara’s victim impact statement and her struggles physically and emotionally since the collision. When police found her, she was flung halfway out of the car, pinned and sustained 30 bone fractures.
She was transported to hospital, received two blood transfusions and now feels guilty that she survived.
“I’m trying to cope with it, no one wants to go through this, it’s everyone’s worst nightmare, I’m going to try to stay strong for Sarah and J.P.”
Several other victim impacts statements were heard in court on Thursday as friends and family members wept.
READ MORE: Saskatoon family mourns their only child killed in crash
An aunt of Sarah Wensley is setting up sports scholarship to honour the Saskatoon teen who was killed in a horrific crash.
Sarah Wensley’s father was often too emotional to speak during his victim impact statement. He called his daughter his best friend, a beauty woman and recalled having to tell her younger siblings she was now “an angel”
Court heard that the young offender had been handed over to the care of Social Services when she was two and at age 10 moved between family, street friends and her gang with minimum adult supervision. She was the product of two adults bringing a baby into the world and then abandoning it.
READ MORE: Second guilty plea in fatal 22nd Street crash involving stolen truck
With no criminal record, her defence lawyer stated that her client thought all five charges she pleaded guilty to were fair because she was at fault.
“Each of us is more than the worse thing we’ve ever done.”
When handing down his sentence the judge told the young offender “we hope that you in fact change but it goes much further than that you must become a healthier and better person.”
She received three years with a one year credit for time already served. She’ll spend eight more months in custody and four months community supervision and one year probation.
“The only message that our government and criminal justice system is sending to criminals is it’s ok to go out there and commit crime, there is no deterrent, it’s ok to go out there and kill our children.” said Alex Haughey, James’ father.
The driver of the stolen truck, 21-year old Cheyann Peeteetuce, pleaded guilty to seven charges including two counts of dangerous driving causing death. She will be sentenced in March.
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