Carol Berner's sentence appeal is set to be heard March 21. Inset, victim Alexa Middelaer.

Carol Berner's sentence appeal is set to be heard March 21. Inset, victim Alexa Middelaer.

Berner sentence appeal set for spring

The sentence appeal of a woman whose impaired and dangerous driving convictions were recently upheld will be heard in Vancouver next spring.

The sentence appeal of a woman whose impaired and dangerous driving convictions were recently upheld will be heard in Vancouver early next spring.

Crown John Gordon confirmed Wednesday that Carol Berner’s case is set for March 21 in the B.C. Court of Appeal.

Berner, 60, is fighting a 30-month jail term that was imposed two years ago in connection with the May 2008 death of toddler Alexa Middelaer.

Alexa, who attended preschool in Crescent Beach, died from injuries suffered when Berner lost control of her car on a Delta street and plowed into the four-year-old. Alexa’s aunt Daphne Johanson was seriously injured in the collision.

Berner’s appeal of her convictions – two counts of dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm and two counts of impaired driving causing death and bodily harm – was heard in November 2011, and dismissed last month.

Appeal court judges found the verdicts “were ones a judge could reasonably render.”

While Berner had to surrender herself on the morning that the appeal judgment was released, she was released on bail later that afternoon. In the 4½ years since the crash, Berner has not spent any significant time behind bars.

 

Peace Arch News