The families of Laurent Isador and Tyler Duboski and other Red Rum motorcycle group riders came to the High Prairie courthouse Tuesday looking for substantial jail time for a semi-truck driver who forever altered their lives.
Michael Maurice Koochin, 40, was behind the wheel on Highway 2 near Sucker Creek First Nation nearly two years ago when he crossed the centre line and plowed into the motorcycle convoy on a charity ride.
Isador, 38, from the Driftpile First Nation, and Duboski, 33, from Edmonton, died in the August 2024 crash, and six others were injured — some so severely they still cannot work to this day.
In a joint submission by the Crown and defence, Koochin was sentenced to two and a half years in custody.
“My number was life. But I was hoping for five years,” explained Stacey Sorokowski.
Her son, Cody Clemente, was airlifted from the crash scene by STARS.
Clemente spoke to Global News about struggling after the crash, saying he wasn’t the man he was before.
He died in December 2025 — and his family and friends attribute his untimely death to stress, PTSD and survivor’s guilt from the crash: Duboski was his best friend.
Sorokowski walked out of the courtroom in tears.
“I’m really angry right now,” she said. “I’m really disappointed.”
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“It wouldn’t have brought Cody or Tyler or Laurent back, but I was really hoping they would see that their lives mattered.”
She wasn’t alone. When the Crown told attendees in the packed room that the sentence had been agreed on back in April, cries of: “What?” and “That’s all?” rang out.
Duboski’s mom yelled, “For my son’s life?” and was escorted out of the courtroom by family.
Duboski was raised by his grandmother, Leah Dubowski.
Outside the courthouse, she said she was at a loss for words and couldn’t fathom how they reached the sentence.
“We get the life sentence,” she said.
“We’ve got our other boys here that are injured. Mentally, physically, PTSD, their families are injured … and it’s all a slap in the face, what they’ve done.”
Repeatedly, the court heard the Crown, judge and even the defence state that the sentence was on the low end of the range for dangerous driving causing death charges.
Isador’s sister, Tina Isador, asked the Crown if the families had been consulted at all before the plea deal was reached. She was told no.
“Where’s our Crown prosecutor? Because sitting here listening, we had two defence lawyers.”
The Crown prosecutor changed suddenly last month when the original Crown had a medical emergency and did not return to work.
The judge said there were mitigating factors, including that Koochin was driving a commercial truck and that he pleaded guilty, sparing the court a trial.
Koochin’s lawyer called the crime “a brief moment of inattention” and said his client feels terrible about what happened.
Koochin himself opted not to address the packed room.
John Giroux is one of the crash survivors.
“I looked at him the whole time, straight in the face, looking for a tear, any remorse. There was nothing,” he said.
Giroux’s shoulder was severely injured when he took his bike, with his son on the back, into the ditch to avoid Koochin’s semi as it barrelled at them, head on.
Going to the roadside memorials for his lost friends still brings him to tears today.
The sentence also included a trio of financial penalties for traffic safety violations surrounding the roadworthiness of Koochin’s semi and his lack of insurance.
When he’s released from jail, he will be banned from driving for seven years.
With credit for time already served, Koochin’s lawyer expects his client will be out in just over a year. He technically has 575 days left on his sentence.
Isador’s widow, Brenda Powder, said she doesn’t accept the court’s decision and plans to make noise in her late fiancé’s honour.
“I can’t find that justice here, so I’m going to find that justice in other legal ways.”
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