Edmonton woman pleads guilty to dangerous driving causing death
Taylor McKenzie loved amusement park rides, so the last day of her life was a happy one.
The 14-year-old spent July 26, 2016, with her parents and boyfriend at K-Days in Edmonton. They were on the fairgrounds from opening to closing.
"It was a good day," her father, Lenord Flese, recalled.
Taylor died instantly in a highway crash later that night just outside Smoky Lake, Alta. Her mother and father were both injured.
The driver who caused the crash, Stephenie McNeil, pleaded guilty this week in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
McNeil, 28, left Edmonton around 10 p.m. that July night, according to an agreed statement of facts. Smoky Lake is about 110 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
"I knew I was feeling tired," McNeil admitted in an interview with RCMP after the crash. "But I got an energy drink and I convinced myself I could just do it, and pull over if I felt tired."
The constable asked her what happened in the seconds before the crash.
"I was driving, leaning against the wheel, and I went to go sit back," McNeil said. "Then I literally closed my eyes for a second. It felt literally like a second. And then I opened them and blinked, and I was coming around the bend. And they were there."
An accident reconstruction report entered as an exhibit found the car Flese was driving was at a stop sign, and he was waiting for McNeil's truck to pass before he turned. The truck was travelling at 106 km/h in the seconds leading up to the crash. McNeil suddenly swerved out of her lane, her truck headed straight for the car.
Flese said he had no chance to take evasive action.
The damage to the vehicles was massive.
One photo from the scene shows a stuffed animal hanging out of the back seat where Taylor had been sitting. Her boyfriend had won it for her at K-Days.
"My daughter never made it out of the car alive," Joanne McKenzie told CBC News outside the Edmonton courthouse.
'She has shown no remorse'
When the trial began Tuesday, McNeil faced six charges, including criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The first day was devoted to determining whether McNeil's statement to RCMP could be admitted as evidence.
Court of Queen's Bench Justice Avril Inglis ruled Wednesday morning the tape was admissible. McNeil then chose to plead guilty to the less serious charges.
She stood in the prisoner's box sobbing, hands over her eyes.
"Guilty," she said.
Taylor's parents said later they don't believe the show of emotion was genuine.
"She has shown no remorse," Joanne McKenzie said outside the courthouse. "At all."
"It's just that it finally caught up to her," Flese said. "That's it."
The parents say McNeil has never offered a word of apology for the loss of their daughter. They say they looked her up on Facebook after they were released from the hospital at around three in the morning on July 27, 2016.
"She was on Facebook looking for tickets," Flese said. "For the music festival. It was already on Facebook about an hour later, where she's trying to find tickets. That's ridiculous. She couldn't even say anything in the hospital to us. Not even a, 'Hey, I'm sorry,' or nothing. Just hop in the vehicle and go."
McNeil remains free on bail and likely won't be sentenced until next year.
That's another source of frustration for Taylor's parents.
"I just wish that sentencing was earlier, so that Stephenie didn't get to spend Christmas with her child," McKenzie said.
"Because I don't get to spend Christmas with mine. Ever again."
