Sherwood Park man given five year sentence for impaired driving causing death

EDMONTON- A Sherwood Park man has been sentenced to five years in prison for impaired driving causing death.

In June 2009, Rodney Flight drove while impaired, lost control of his car and collided head-on with a vehicle on a highway outside of Alberta Beach.

The collision killed the driver of the other vehicle, 67-year-old Robert Zastrow, and injured the passenger.

Robert’s family emerged from the courtroom Friday, satisfied with the sentence, but say it’s been a tough four years.

“I think it’s time the courts in Alberta started dishing out a few more severe sentences and hopefully this is the beginning of deterring this drinking and driving,” said Robert’s widow Gloria Zastrow.

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“It’s a life. How do you sentence? We lost our dad. My mom lost her husband. You can’t ever get that back,” added Robert’s daughter Leanna Zastrow.

Flight addressed the court briefly, tearfully saying he’s sorry “from the bottom of my heart for their loss.”

“Sorry to my wife and my kids for the hell they’ve been through,” he added.

The judge’s decision came down to deterrence, saying these crimes are a plague on our society.

“For some reason the people who commit these crimes don’t realize a vehicle can be akin to a weapon,” said Justice Monica Bast.

Robert’s family feels the same way. They hope this case will cause others to think twice before getting behind the wheel impaired.

“I hope it starts to set a trend. People have got to start taking this seriously,” said Leanna.

“I really miss him,” Robert’s granddaughter Brooklyn Steed said, letting out a huge sigh. “It’s hard for our whole family going through this tragedy that (was) caused by one person doing one stupid thing. If he wouldn’t have done it, I would still have my grandpa.”