Man who fled deadly Burnaby hit-and-run accused of breaching sentence conditions

A B.C. man who received no time behind bars for fleeing the scene of a deadly crash with a motorcyclist in Burnaby has been accused of breaching his conditional sentence order three months after it was imposed.

On Sept. 27, Marcel Genaille was allegedly found in a driver’s seat for a purpose other than lawful employment while he also allegedly breached his curfew and house arrest on the same date, according to the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS).

BC Community Corrections submitted the breach allegations, said the BCPS.

Court records show Genaille was detained after appearing in Vancouver Provincial Court on Tues. Oct. 1.

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Genaille pleaded guilty in May 2023 to leaving the scene of an accident involving the death of James “Mark” Peters on June 19, 2021.

Peters, 59, was on his way home from work when he was hit from behind at a red light at Canada Way and Imperial Street.

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On June 27, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Andrea Brownstone handed Genaille an 18-month conditional sentence, with the first eight months under house arrest.

The house arrest component included an exemption to allow him to leave home for work or medical appointments.

Brownstone did not hand Genaille a driving prohibition, but he is not allowed to drive for any purpose other than work for the first year of his sentence.

Video entered as evidence in the sentencing hearing showed Genaille’s Honda Accord behind Peters’ motorbike before the crash, travelling 24 kilometres per hour over the speed limit.

The collision threw Peters 17 metres. The father of two’s bike was thrown 64 metres.

Genaille fled the scene, losing the front bumper and licence plate of his vehicle on the way to abandoning it.

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Security video showed him stopping in an Esso convenience store about 20 minutes later and buying a few items and chatting with the clerk.

The court heard that Genaille initially went to Burnaby RCMP after the collision, but denied involvement. Instead, he claimed he’d been at his recovery house that night.

Brownstone acknowledged Genaille’s deception was an aggravating factor in the case, but was in part mitigated by the systemic discrimination and cultural challenges he has faced as an Indigenous person.

Genaille remains in custody on the breach allegations and his next scheduled court appearance is Oct. 17 for a conditional sentence hearing.