Driver in crash that killed Alyssa Power sentenced to 18 months
The teenaged driver in a crash that killed a young St. John's woman has been sentenced to 18 months.
The driver, who was 17 at the time of the accident and can't be named due to her age, pleaded guilty last year to charges of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and breaching court orders.
Alyssa Power was 19 when she died in the crash.
Judge James Walsh, in delivering the 18-month sentence — less the nine months she has already spent in custody — said the driver had been manipulative and diminished the consequences of past crimes, and in a previous hearing he admonished her for not taking responsibility for her actions.
"She caused the death of Alyssa Power," he said.
Power was a passenger in the vehicle driven by the woman sentenced in provincial court in St. John's on Tuesday morning.
She left behind a one-month-old daughter. The driver was hospitalized with serious injuries after the collision.
'No insight into the consequences'
Walsh said he was concerned by her statement in court last year that she "did what anyone would do" on the night of the crash.
"She shows no insight into the consequences of ignoring court orders not to drive," said Walsh, who also gave the driver a five-year driving ban.
With time already served, she'll spend six more months in jail, followed by three months of supervision within the community.
The crash happened just before 10:30 p.m. on April 13, when a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary patrol officer driving south on Hamlyn Road tried to stop a Honda Accord that was heading in the same direction. Police said the driver failed to stop and then hit an SUV heading west on Canada Drive.
Alyssa was a passenger in that vehicle. One of two male youths in the Accord sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and the driver and sole occupant of the SUV had minor injuries.
An investigation by the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Reponse Team, done at the request of RNC Chief Joe Boland, found the RNC officer's actions in line with training and standard operating procedures.
The Crown had asked for the maximum three-year jail sentence and a 10-year driving ban, while defence lawyer Rhona Buchan argued for a sentence of time served and a five-year driving ban. The driver, who is now 18, has been in custody since the crash.
Buchan said her client has extreme remorse, guilt and depression, and wishes she had died instead of Power. Buchan said her client has applied for nursing school.
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