More than a year since a Winnipeg motorcyclist was hit by a drunk driver on Talbot Avenue, a city courtroom heard how the crash has left the victim and his family with lifelong physical and psychological pain.
Dan Léveillé and his wife, Tobi Léveillé, along with their daughter, were among those who read emotional, at times tearful victim impact statements on Wednesday.
“Because of the offender’s choice for which he is solely responsible, I was sentenced to over 207 days in hospital, 207 days away from my home, away from my duties to this city and its people,” Léveillé said.
His colleagues and family filled the courtroom for Braedon Lee Gordon’s sentencing hearing.
On June 14, 2023, Léveillé was driving his motorcycle to work at the Winnipeg Police Service He was heading down Talbot when a minivan cut him off at Levis Street.
Léveillé flew from his bike and smashed into the van’s windshield before landing metres away on the concrete.
The driver of the van originally fled the scene but was arrested shortly afterwards, police said in a news release at the time.
Court heard how Léveillé was in hospital for eight months with life-altering injuries and multiple surgeries, and will struggle with mental health and mobility issues for the rest of his life.
On Wednesday, Gordon, 23, pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle while impaired. Court heard Gordon was over the legal alcohol limit at the time of the incident.
His defence lawyer Michael Dyck told CBC News the other charges were dropped. Originally, Gordon was also charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and driving while prohibited.
Gordon attended virtually and listened silently to more than an hour of statements, at times looking down at the floor.
The judge accepted the Crown and defence’s joint recommendation of a 35-month sentence for Gordon.
It means he will spend more than a year-and-a-half in jail, taking into account time he already served.