The families and friends of two people killed in a crash in Pitt Meadows in 2010 say there has been no justice for their loved ones.
Andelina Hecimovic, charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death, was found not guilty of killing Beckie Dyer, 19 and Johnny De Oliveira, 21, by the presiding judge. The verdict stunned the families and the public.
Now the victim’s families have made a video and put it on YouTube, saying they demand better from the justice system.
The video includes photos of the young couple, speeches from family members, a description of the accident and footage of their funeral.
Beckie’s mother Debbie talks in the video about what it is like to live every day without her daughter.
“It hurts me to this day that they’re no longer here with us. It was awful, absolutely awful. No parent should have to have that knock on their door,” she says.
“It’s like a piece of you is dying a slow death every day. They’re not here to share their happiness or their plans for moving out, or getting married, or finishing school. And I’ll never be able to walk her down the aisle. I’ll never be able to hold her babies in my lap and hug them.”
“It’s just a slow death for me every day.”
In October 2010, Hecimovic was driving on the Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows when she skidded sideways over a concrete median near Harris Road, flipped, and slammed into the roof of the young couple’s Suzuki Swift, killing them.
On those three points the judge dismissed both counts of dangerous driving causing death, saying the crown had to prove a mere departure (which would have caused civil action) or a marked departure (which would have brought criminal action) of Hecimovic’s normal driving behaviour. In the judge’s ruling, it’s believed the woman was ‘just having a bad day’.
Johnny’s mother Audrey says she has now lost all faith in the justice system.
“You have to watch your back with everything now,” she says, fighting tears. “There’s no one to trust. I’m not even proud of being Canadian, I’m not even proud of the justice system, I’m not proud of anything. It’s like I’m just living.”
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The loss of her son has left a huge hole in her life.
“Because I have family and I have friends and I have my grandson and my daughter, but on special occasions there’s always an empty spot,” she says. “I don’t care, I don’t care about anything.”
Katie Sheppard, a friend of the Dyer family, whose daughters also appear in the video, says everyone got together and made the video because they want people to know what happened and how unfair the decision was.
“Debbie wants to protect this happening to other families.”
Sheppard says shortly after the video was posted on YouTube, the memorial to the couple on Lougheed Highway was vandalized. “The cross was snapped in half,” she says, but doesn’t know if there is a connection between the two.
They just want to get the message out there and are asking people to write to Justice Minister Peter McKay and B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton demanding change.
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