REGINA – A Saskatoon man was sentenced to nine years in prison and a 15-year driving ban for impaired driving causing death in a drunken crash which killed a 72-year-old Regina man last June. Brian Okemahwasin had no license and a blood alcohol content exceeding more than three and a half times the legal limit when he was taken into custody by police at the scene.
He was so drunk he didn’t even know what city he was in.
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READ MORE: Saskatoon man charged with impaired driving in Regina death
Garry Tatham died when his vehicle was hit from behind by Okemahwasin, who was going 94 kilometres an hour.
Judge Jeffrey Kalmakoff called it appalling that Okemahwasin had 200 previous convictions on his criminal record. The judge also admitted to the court that four prior sentences for impaired driving had failed to protect the public.
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In his decision, the judge said he had to consider Okemahwasin’s life circumstances as an aboriginal man.
He made note of the trauma of sexual abuse at residential school but said those circumstances do not absolve Okemahwasin of the responsibility for choosing to drink and drive.
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