Samuel Alec has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for killing two cyclists and the passenger in the car he was driving near Pemberton two years ago.
Alec, who has already served two years in jail, will now serve six additional years in prison. He also received a 15 year driving ban and will have to undergo mandatory DNA tests.
The judge said Alec was not just impaired when the incident happened, he was “grossly impaired” and his blood alcohol was roughly three times the legal limit.
In May 2015, his vehicle went off the road, hitting and killing two cyclists out for a weekend ride. Kelly Blunden, 53, and Ross Chafe, 50, were members of the Whistler Cycling club.
The passenger in Alec’s vehicle, Paul Maurice Pierre, Jr., 52, of the Lil’wat Nation, was also killed.
Alec was charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death, three counts of impaired driving causing death, three counts of driving with a blood alcohol content over .08, and one count of failing to remain at the scene of the accident.
Just eight minutes before the crash, Alec had near-misses with other drivers on the road.
In March, Alec’s mother told the court her youngest son developed behavioural problems and got into fights early in his life, after being estranged from his parents, who were dealing with their own alcohol addictions.
Alec was introduced to alcohol at the age of 10, had trouble in school and witnessed violence in his home.
His mother said she was not a good parent and had a hard time showing love to her son — a consequence of her upbringing at a residential school in Mission, where she was sexually abused and beaten.
“I learned my parenting skills there,” she said. “It took me years to learn how to be a good parent.”
Alec’s defence lawyer, Paul McMurray, said his client’s scars and demons, fueled by alcohol abuse, got the better of him for many years as the result of his experience as a young man growing up in the Lillooet area.
- Man in critical condition after setting himself on fire near NYC courthouse
- ‘They knew’: Victims of sexual abuse by Ontario youth leader sue Anglican Church
- Arrest made after police issue emergency alert about ‘dangerous man’ in Bible Hill, N.S.
- Trump trial set to hear opening statements Monday as another delay denied
“Everyone should know better than to drink and drive, but those with privilege should know better than those without,” McMurray said, prompting gasps from family and friends of the victims in the gallery.
READ MORE: Family, friends of 2 cyclists killed in crash near Pemberton speak out in court
McMurray said the court has to take into account where Alec started and how far he got on his journey to healing and overcoming his alcohol addiction while in custody.
Alec has been behind bars since August 2015 and has completed the provincial graduation requirements while in custody.
While in court in March, Alec apologized to Kelly Blunden, Ross Chafe and Paul Maurice Pierre Jr. and said he feels “very sad and terrible for all the grief I have caused the cyclists’ families.”
-With files from Yuliya Talmazan
Comments