Like a scene unfolding in ultra slow motion, the senselessness of a few minutes on a May night in White Rock continue to leave a wake of havoc – and a sobering lesson in the consequences of our actions.
Kyle Brandon Danyliuk summed it up himself at his September sentencing hearing.
On May 18, 2011, he said, he was driving a car when he shouldn’t have been, and as a result “ruined the lives of a lot of people” as well as his own.
One life, in fact, was lost. Resident Marilyn Laursen was killed when the car Danyliuk was driving hit her on a crosswalk during a high-speed chase in which he was being pursued by a White Rock RCMP cruiser. Another victim, in a car previously struck by Danyliuk’s vehicle, still suffers from her injuries.
Danyliuk, who had been evading a police stop, fled the scene, ditched the car and, for two months until his arrest, maintained the vehicle had been stolen.
The 20-year-old is scheduled to learn Thursday whether he will be sentenced to the full 48 months asked for by the Crown prosecutor.
The case has been made that he has since taken responsibility by pleading guilty to all four dangerous driving charges against him; that he has shown genuine remorse, followed all bail conditions. The sentencing judge has heard that he has “turned his life around” and that he plans to marry the mother of his child.
In his actions to change his life – and the circumstances that led to his dreadful mistake – we can only wish him well.
But as Danyliuk noted, the damage from his thoughtless actions behind the wheel is not confined to the immediate victims.
The grief felt by family members and friends – and the anguish of witnesses – is still intense, more than a year and a half later.
Less important, but significant nonetheless, is the financial impact. Court costs and fees, in what is already an overtaxed legal system, are still being tallied. Even White Rock’s city budget was down by $203,000 last year, after the White Rock detachment got the bill for Surrey RCMP’s help in investigating the incident.
The latest chapter of misfortune began in Surrey Provincial Court this week. White Rock RCMP Const. David Bickle, now faces criminal charges for his part in the more than 80 km/hr pursuit.
The charges, of dangerous driving causing death and injury, were brought against Bickle after a further costly investigation, this one by Vancouver police at the request of the RCMP.
But the ultimate price of this precedent-setting case – both for the officer himself, and the way police subsequently interpret their duty to protect the communities they serve – can only be guessed at.
