CALGARY- A Calgary man has been sentenced to three years in jail for his role in a crash that killed a young woman two and a half years ago.
The court room was filled with tears throughout the sentencing hearing Friday.
When it was all over, the real closure began for both families involved.
The family of Kelli-Jo Smith are finally on the road to healing.
The man responsible for her death, Ramandeep Singh Jaswal, is now in jail.
In an emotional moment, Kelli Jo’s mother approached Jaswal’s family after court.
“I think Ramandeep made a stupid mistake that we are all paying for now. I really felt I had to let him know I had forgiven him and before my husband died he had forgiven him,” Wendy Smith, Kelli-Jo’s mother said.
Jaswal is sentenced to three years in prison for dangerous driving causing death, bodily harm, and refusing to provide a breath sample.
He was driving more than twice the speed limit when he ran a red light, slamming into a truck killing Kelli-Jo and badly injuring her husband Sean Mahoney.
“They collided literally right in front of me, the truck spun out of control coming straight at me, missed me by inches. It’s awful those images will never leave my mind,” Lori Stewart said about witnessing the crash.
“I miss Kelli every day, every minute. She’s in my thoughts and dreams. There’s no changing it, no money, time or apologies that’s going to change it,” Mahoney said.
Jaswal looked directly at Kelli-Jo’s family members as they gave their victim impact statements, then he apologized, saying a life was taken because of a dumb decision, admitting his mistake was selfish.
“It’s probably the most heartfelt statement I’ve ever heard an accused person say,” Balfour Der, Jaswal’s defence lawyer said.
Kelli’s husband struggles with the apology, just as he struggles with his own physical and mental recovery.
“It’s hard for me to absorb an apology like that when I’ve gone through all the trauma and anguish over the past two and a half years ago. It would have been a lot more heartfelt two and a half years ago.”
“These are cases where no matter how many I do, no one comes out a winner,” Crown prosecutor Jonathan Hak said.
Jaswal told the court he hopes to one day sit down and talk with Kelli-Jo’s family.
They say they will welcome that moment and hope time can help bring healing for everyone.
“I think it gives him enough time to think about what happened.
Jaswal is 29-years-old and is midway into his degree to become a physiotherapist or a chiropractor.
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