The Crown is seeking a four-year sentence for Sommit Luangpakham, who was found guilty on all 10 charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and leaving the scene of an accident in a 2009 crash that injured five cyclists in Kanata, Ont.
Defence lawyer Richard Addelman is looking for a sentence of between 12 and 18 months for the Ottawa man who testified he fell asleep at the wheel before he hit the cyclists.
They were riding single file in the bicycle lane on March Road in the west Ottawa neighbourhood of Kanata in July 2009 when they were struck by a van. All five were hurt, four seriously.
Luangpakham, 47, has been free on bail since he was found guilty Oct. 20 in Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa. His sentence will be read Monday after victim statements were read Friday.
Luangpakham's wife relayed an apology to the victims and said Luangpakham prayed every day for them. She said he was "genuinely sorry" for causing the crash.
The victims also read their impact statements, telling the court how the crash had changed their lives both physically and mentally.
Patricia Buchanan, the mother of crash victim Robert Wein, who was injured the most seriously of the five victims, said she hopes to hear an apology from Luangpakham.
"It doesn't matter what the sentence is, the outcome for my son or the others, the injuries still remain the same," said Buchanan outside of court Friday.
"But all along I wanted to hear him say, I was sorry."
Luangpakham is expected to make a statement to the court and the five crash victims Monday before the sentence is handed down.
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