My Wet Coast Life

Losing a friend or family member is never a joyful experience. Losing them to a preventable accident is even worse. It has taken me awhile just to wrap my head around the facts that have arisen in regards to my friend Jayna Haddock being killed by a drunk driver on April 12, 2008 and what i have learned in the last week or so.

I grew up with Jayna living down the road in what i would describe as a small micro-community where there is one main road in and most of the neighbors know each other and all the kids are welcome at each other's house. This almost guaranteed anyone in that area always had someone around the same age to play with. Even though most of us from that time frame have grown up, moved out, married and lost some contact, we all still try to meet when we can to reminisce about those days and the fun we had. Sadly, we have had one less friend that can join us for the last 2 years.

Up to this point, I've tried to avoid learning more about the trial and events of that night. I sum it up to my friend was killed by a drunk driver, they caught the guy but he still denies it, trial will be awhile but he should be found guilty. So i continued on in life and every so often remember Jayna and then kick myself again because she died 2 weeks before we had planned to meet up. 2 weeks. 1 pay check. We had not spoken in over 10 years due to me traveling and moving to different cities. We recently started chatting again thanks to Facebook (it does do some good every-so-often). I even wrote about it, 1 year after Jayna died, when British Columbia first announced the new proposed, now implemented, drinking and driving laws, still not knowing anything more at that time other than my friend was killed by a drunk driver.

Well, this all changed this week for me as he was just sentenced. 2 and a half years after it happened, I decided now I wanted to know more and was shocked at to what i found. Just shocked. So many emotions come back to mind and a lot tend to head towards anger, rage and frustration as well as sadness. Some of this info was available earlier but to me, this was new and changed everything for me. For those that want to stay in the little bubble like I did, stop reading now.

Follow up:

On April 12, 2008, Janya was out with 3 friends acquaintances at the time (for lack of a better description) for a night of hockey, fun and some drinks. But trust me, after what happened that night, these 3 people should never get a friend designation, EVER. This night started with Jayna heading out to watch a Salmon Kings hockey game with her acquaintances Dan Elliott, Sean Dean Redmond and his common-law wife Karly Webb.

Sean Redmond was driving and they decided to head to a bar, Sopranos, only for Sean Redmond to be refused for being too intoxicated. They then headed into the Esquimalt area to the Carlton club. After being allowed in and drinking some more, they decided to leave around 10PM. When they left, Dan Elliott and Karly Webb waited out front while Sean Redmond grabbed his SUV. Jayna waited with 2 other friends and tried to call a cab. After being unsuccessful, she called her boyfriend.

While they were waiting, Sean Redmond drove away from the Carlton club and ended up pulling a u-turn to head back to the club. In the process, he almost hit 2 high school students but luckily did not. He continued on to the club and missed the club's parking lot entrance. He then pulled another u-turn but this time he hopped up onto the curb where Jayna was standing. The front tire caught Jayna's leg throwing her onto the hood of Sean Redmond's SUV. She rolled off and hit the back of her head, fracturing her skull. A naval officer (my hat is off to you) driving by and witnessing the u-turn got out of her vehicle to assist Jayna and call 911. Sean Redmond got out of his SUV after hitting Jayna to assist but soon jumped back into his vehicle and fled the scene. In testimony at the court case, the naval officer was heard on 911 tapes asking for someone to get the SUV’s licence plate number. She also asked if anyone knew the driver of the SUV. Dan Elliott, one of the acquaintances with Jayna that night, can be heard saying "no." Karly Webb also lied to police, saying she didn't know who the driver was.

NO? Seriously? I can understand trying to cover up something petty for a friend but you just witnessed your friend run over and seriously injure another person, who you happen to know as well and have been hanging out all night previously. This shows which side Dan Elliot and Karly Webb were on. This also sadly shows the true characters of these three. If i was friends with any of them, i would be seriously reconsidering as Sean Redmond, Karly Webb and Dan Elliott all have shown their true colors. Cowardly and untrustworthy. At least for Dan Elliott, he later changed his tune and testified for the prosecution during a preliminary hearing. A bit too late but better late then never.

Let me pause here for a minute to reflect on what has occurred so far and why i am so shocked. Firstly, Sean Redmond, after being refused entry to a bar for intoxication got back into his vehicle and drove to Esquimalt. Anyone from Victoria, B.C. knows Sopranos to the Carlton Club in Esquimalt, depending on route, if over the Johnson street bridge, Bay Street bridge or through the Gorge is a decent distance. Based on the information i have read, it appears Jayna rode with Sean Redmond and the other 2 people to the Carlton Club which was a poor choice for all of them. All of them were lucky i guess for making it there alive and nothing happening, yet. But sadly we know that was soon to change. They left the Carlton club a short time later and in the process of waiting outside the club, Sean Redmond hopped the curb in his SUV and hit Jayna, tried to render assistance and then fled after realizing he is in over his head (or to escape liability). Dan Elliott and Karly Webb stayed in the Carlton Club's parking lot, but then lied to police saying they didn't know who the driver was.

Now to add to all of this and show how cowardly Sean Redmond is, he fled the scene of the accident and drove home at a reported high rate of speed. By chance, he made it there without causing any more accidents, injuries or fatalities. Victoria police found Sean Redmond at his home and upon answering the door to Police, Sean Redmond said "No habla Ingles". WHAT?? The immigrant race card? Are you kidding me? Just because you don't speak English, doesn't mean the Police are gonna leave you alone. Language and race has nothing to do with drunken stupidity. I can only assume the police also had a hard time believing that from a white Caucasian. He was arrested at 11:10 p.m. and later told police, still denying he knew Jayna, said "The chick just fell in front of me." Well, that chick had a name, it is Jayna and you were socializing with her minutes prior to fatally hitting her with your vehicle and fleeing. How callous can one person be to a friend, or even mutual acquaintance? Well, now i know.

Sean Redmond was initially charged by Police with the following offenses:

• Criminal Negligence Causing Death contrary to Sec. 220 (b) of the Criminal Code
• Failing to Remain at the scene of an Accident contrary to Sec. 252(1.2) of the Criminal Code
• Impaired Driving Causing Death contrary to Sec. 255(3) of the Criminal Code
• Driving Over .08 contrary to Sec. 253(b) of the Criminal Code

2 hours after they arrested him, Sean Redmond's blood alcohol content (BAC) was still almost 3 TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT! Now in my opinion, that is not a situation where someone has had a 1 or 2 woobly pops and thinks he or she is fine to drive and something bad occurred and it was a misjudgment on their part. But at 3 times the legal limit? His friends should have stepped in at that point as he most likely was having issues walking, talking and functioning; let alone driving. Plus his blood alcohol was measured well after the accident so one can only assume it was even higher at the time he hit Jayna. Why didn't fate make him taking a drunken gainer down the Carlton's steps? One can only ponder.

Here's a quick education (PDF) on how blood-alcohol levels affect the body to get a better perspective of the moving hazard created that night by Sean Redmond. With a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 gm/100ml, which is the impaired driving level in B.C., the reaction time of the average driver doubles from 1.5 seconds to 3.0 seconds. So let's try this. One mississippi, 2 missis...there, that already can make the difference between a near miss and a fatal accident and that was 0.08. Sean Redmond was over 3 times that amount. Muscle coordination diminishes as well and a driver is more likely to respond incorrectly to stimuli. So even if the drunk driver did respond quickly, there is no guarantee the body will react as intended and directed by the brain. If your BAC is 0.08 gm/100 ml, you are 4 times more likely to crash than if you are sober. At a BAC of 0.12 gm/100 ml, your chances are 15 times more likely and at a BAC of 0.16 gm/100 ml, double the legal limit, your chances of crashing are 30 times more than if you are sober. Sean Redmond was 3 times over the limit so the odds were greatly stacked against him.

To add to this sad situation, as an adult, Sean Redmond has 42 motor vehicle act infractions, including 13 for speeding, 8 for moving violations and three 24-hour prohibitions. So 3 previous times, Sean Redmond was caught under the influence behind the wheel but not enough to get an impaired driving ticket. *facepalm*

Had British Columbia's tough new drinking laws been in place, this may not have occurred. The reason I see the new laws could have prevented this tragic outcome due to Sean Redmond's 3 infractions. Under the new laws introduced in September 2010, Sean Redmond would have received over $5000 in fines, lost his car for 40 days in total and he would have had to attend a Responsible Driver Program and have an ignition interlock device installed on his SUV for 1 year. Add the new speeding laws and if just one of his 13 speeding violations were over 40km/h above the posted limit, he would have received another 7 days for the car impounding, over $900 in fines and insurance costing him over $300 more/year and it goes up for each subsequent offense. I don't know too many people that could financially support that kind of lifestyle which ultimately could have prevented this. Hopefully these laws prevent another family and friends from going through something like this.

Sean Redmond's lawyer asked for probation with strict conditions or a 90-day jail sentence served on weekends. He stated Sean Redmond has not had a drink since the accident, has a good job and pays child support to a young daughter. If i was present, i would have had some choice words for both Sean Redmond and his lawyer, Kirk Karaszkiewicz for even asking for lenience. This was no accident, everyone had choices that night and Sean picked the wrong one multiple times and he never "manned up" to it until he was caught and knew he could not get out of it. Both Sean Redmond and Dan Elliot can hand their "Man" cards back, they do not deserve them. Fortunately, the judge did not see it the way the defense did and sentenced Sean Dean Redmond to 4 years in jail. Three years for dangerous driving causing death and one year consecutively for leaving the scene.

I would have preferred to see a higher sentence based on all that occurred. This wasn't some random person struck by Sean Redmond on the side of the road. The fact Sean Redmond has lied to police, has a previous track record of reckless driving and drinking and driving and to top it off, fled the scene after starting to render assistance. And this was for an acquaintance! I can only wonder what the outcome would have been if it was a stranger or even worse, had there been no witnesses. Hopefully, Sean Redmond is not a trained first aider or I would ask the Good Samaritan Act be used against him for not rendering assistance. The only good thing and only possible slight sliver of a reason I accept the sentence is Sean Redmond did plead guilty to dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failing a breathalyzer. But once again, I can only assume Sean plead guilty to guarantee a lighter sentence than pleading not guilty and having an encyclopedia set worth of books thrown at him once he was found guilty. Maybe he would have gotten the 10-14 years. Maybe.

Now having a good job, not drinking anymore and paying child support does not defray from what has happened nor should it deserve a reduced or more lenient sentence. We should not classify people and their punishment based on their current job or current, post-crime situation and lifestyle. Maybe there should be some leniency in sentencing but not a completely different sentence. All this says is you can screw up as much as you want but once busted, ensure you get a good job, don't drink anymore and ensure you have children (I only bring this low blow topic up as he has used this reason for a reduced sentence) to enact judiciary sympathy. Using child support as a reason for leniency is a catch 22 to me for this situation. Yes, Sean Redmond has someone that now depends on him and needs his financial support but Jayna was the daughter to her parents and they will never see her again. Sean will see his daughter again in 4 years (and hopefully visits before then) and then once he is released, for the rest of their lives. I feel sorry for Sean's daughter having to grow up and sooner or later finding out how her dad became a very despicable, cowardly and untrustworthy person one fateful night. Will he even explain it to her? Will it be the whole truth? Do we really want someone like this back in our society so soon? One can only ask would Sean have gotten a stronger sentence if he had a bad job, still drank and wasn't paying child support? I don't see how any of his actions on that night go to show he is a good, upstanding member of society. He may be a better-than-2-and-a-half years ago, reformed member of society, which is a good start, but he needs to earn it back and for his daughter's sake, does he really have a choice?

I guess part of my issue with this whole situation and sad story is with Canadian law and how certain crimes get extraordinary sentences while others do not. I know judges and lawyers need to do what is right but we have all witnessed cases in the past where the sentence did not justify the crime. I was hoping this case would be an example case. The maximum is 14 years for Dangerous driving causing death (he was originally charged with Criminal Negligence causing Death which carries up to a maximum life sentence) and I would have expected between 8-10 years but sadly due to previous weak rulings, the law favors to be lenient to people like Sean Redmond. I assume due to over-populated jail system or hoping for better rehabilitation. First offense leniency should be taken with a grain of salt. This was his first vehicular homicide but not his first motor vehicle infraction. Alcohol or not, his motor vehicle violations would trend something bad happening was only a matter of time before it occurred. It just happened in this case alcohol compounded the outcome.

Sean Redmond made a decision to drive after drinking. He has a previous history of driving under the influence. He took a life. He should be in jail for 8-10 years in my opinion. Case closed. But i guess i should be happy he got at least 4 years (of which only 3 years are for dangerous driving causing death). I have been following the Carol Berner story and she received only 2.5 year sentence for injuring one adult and killing a 4 year old girl (who succumbed to the injuries). 2 people hit, one of which was a child who died and only 2.5 years to the accused? I would not want to be that girl's parents or any parent to find out you have out lived your child and on top of that, the accused will serve less time in jail the the age of your child. As a parent, I hope this will never happen to me. NEVER. What's even worse with the Carol Brener's story is her defense lawyer is appealing now. What is wrong with our laws? Why is she wasting court time and tax dollars appealing? You admitted guilt, take your punishment and STFU. Our laws have merit but it appears to me and most of the general public that even admitting guilt, you are not going to get the maximum sentence and then if the lighter sentence is not light enough, you can appeal it. I hope the judge gives her more time just for wasting everybody else's.

In Janya's case, Sean Redmond got 3 years out of a possible 14 years, not even 25% of the maximum penalty. What is the point of maximum sentences where the judge doesn't even hit 25% of the maximum penalty? Lenient would be say half the maximum? 7 years sounds fair, right? Maybe parole around the 4 year mark? Carol Berner got less than 18% of the maximum sentence after being found guilty of impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. She injured 1 person, killed a child, admits fault, pleads guilty and is quoted as saying "As a mother, I can't fathom the anguish you feel knowing that I am responsible for the death of your precious little girl. If there was anything I could do or say to take away your pain, I would. All I can do is to take responsibility for my actions."
and all she got was 2.5 years....*sigh*

And to add to this judicial frustration and anger, Carol Berner has the goal to now seek a suspended sentence and probation, with no jail time where the crown wants 3-5 years. Just another example on how our legal system fails and i hope the crown sticks to the sentence they are asking for. These two actions, by Sean Redmond and Carol Berner, have taken away 2 parent's daughters forever. For Sean Redmond and Carol Berner, 4 years and 2.5 years respectively is nothing compared to the parent's lifetime of loss without their daughters. Suck it up and be grateful that is all that you got and our laws still favor the guilty with light sentences.

Now don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for a lenient sentence. But I can only perceive a lenient sentence if it is a obvious accident and fault is admitted outright. The following 2 scenarios should instead be getting a much longer sentence for trying to lie, cheat and weasel out of the initial charge in the first place.

• Scenario 1: For those accused with evidence showing malice beyond a reasonable doubt.
• Scenario 2: The accused denying it until they have no plausible chance of getting off the hook only for them to quickly do an about face and admit fault, plead guilty and hope for a mild sentence.

If you own up at the beginning and cooperate the whole time through the proceedings, only then should some leniency be granted and only if warranted. I also believe, and to reduce changes in pleas half way through the proceedings, you should only get the guilty option once and right at the beginning of the proceedings. After you have entered you plea once, you are no longer allowed to recant it. The accused, if they admit guilt after their initial plea of not guilty, is just trying to save themselves to reduce the impending punishment with no remorse for the victims in my opinion. If they had remorse, they would have admitted guilt outright and accepted any punishment set forth based on the crime. They can still be allowed to change their plea and admit guilt but no leniency should be given to them after the initial plea.

We live in a society with rules and laws that were and are created for a reason. Some laws do require updates or changes based on the rate at which society is changing and advancing. Everyone at some point or another agrees and disagrees with the law based on personal beliefs but more often I see religion as the dominant cause (but I'll leave that for another article). Laws are created in good faith to cover the general consensus of the population. In this case, a law was made stating you will be punished with up to 14 years in jail if you kill someone recklessly with your vehicle. If you do not want to risk this charge, you should hand in your driver's license otherwise you accept this as a risk every time you put the key in the ignition. I highly doubt the law books state all sentences are to be set at least 4 times higher than what will be given out. I know it is to give the judge room to move based on the charge and what the situation was to warrant the charges. But yet again, maybe it is done to give the general public a greater fear to the repercussions of violating the law and to think twice before doing something stupid?

But how can we fear the repercussion of the law when year after year, we see shocking crimes where innocent victims are involved and let off with a slap on the wrist. Some house arrest? Maybe probation? Loss of driver's license for a couple years? Some petty crimes do fit that kind of punishment but any crime causing physical harm or death to someone innocent to the issue at hand should automatically qualify at bare minimum, to a minimum sentence with no ability to plea below the minimum time. Such as a 5 year minimum for dangerous driving causing death when alcohol is involved? That way accidents are not applicable but those who decide to get behind the wheel intoxicated, fully know they will have some serious time to think about it, if they survive the accident. Both Sean Redmond's and Carol Berner's case have shown me that someone can go recklessly drink and get behind the wheel without due regard to others, kill someone and be out in a provincial electoral term or less. I hope that is just a coincidence.

Hopefully in the future, the laws will change for the better. Technology will advance, alternate modes of transportation will be more readily available to avoid people having to get behind the wheel drunk. Or we will just finally give in and have pills to make us drunk and then sober. Only time will tell.

Now I know this article is not going to bring Jayna back, make law makers see the light and change the laws over night. What I hope is next time you're out having a good time with your friends and one of them decides to try and get behind the wheel after a couple drinks, you stop them. If not for you, for them. If not for either of you, then think of Jayna and all her friends that miss her. Don't stand by and wait for a friend to die to do something. Go and create conversation. Why? Go login to your Facebook and click Profile. Now scroll down a bit. See that list of friends? 'Nuff said. All changes, no matter how big or small started off with one person. Remember that. You could be that one person.

If you still need a reason, why not watch this compelling and very realistic (Caution: graphic content) video created by Transport Accident Commission Victoria in Australia about drinking and driving. You can either watch it below or on YouTube.com

I leave you off with one last thing that still needs to be done in my opinion. Friendship. This is the main reason I am so angry and frustrated about this situation. I can only assume Jayna took Sean Redmond, Dan Elliot and Karly Webb as friends (to some extent) or why would she have gone out with them? So let's firstly look at what a friend is?

Definition of a Friend:
A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty.

Now nobody is perfect when it comes to friendships. Hiccups can happen but tend to sort themselves out, sometimes taking longer than others but that is a part of friendship. As for these 3 supposed friends who jumped shipped and abandoned Jayna, what angers me most is one of them still considers himself a friend to Jayna. Now that takes some balls. Over 2.5 years after Jayna passed away and Dan Elliot is still friends with Jayna's Facebook profile. Not sure how the rest of her friends would react to find out someone who wouldn't be a friend to Jayna when she needed a friend most can still consider himself a friend to Jayna now? Maybe he forgot about it? Maybe there is a reason that i am not aware of?
I personally would like Dan Elliot to remove his friend association with Jayna's Facebook profile. To me, Dan Elliot gave up the right to be Jayna's friend when he turned his back on her that night, sided with Sean Redmond and told police he didn't know the driver when asked by Police. He had choices just like everyone else and should deal with the outcome of the choices he so poorly chose. Just because he changed his tune after the fact and testified doesn't mean he's still her friend. He would have to earn that friendship, loyalty and trust back and sadly, Jayna is not around to give him that chance. That is the basis of my request.

As for Sean Redmond, he did what he did and now can pay for his actions. Hopefully this can make him into a better person and something good can come out of this tragic situation. He can never take away what he has done to Jayna's family and friends. I can only hope he has many uncomfortable nights during his 4 year stay at Club Fed.

I'll leave it at that for now.