A trucker found guilty under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without due care and attention in a crash that killed a four-year-old boy before Christmas in 2021 was sentenced July 14 to 60 days in jail.
Manpreet Dhaliwal, born in 1986, must also pay $1,840 in fines and $30,000 in restitution to the parents of Nate Peebles.
The start of his jail term, however, is unknown. Twice Dhaliwal disobeyed Judge Michael Brecknell’s orders to appear in-person at Prince George Provincial Court. He instead watched via webconference from India, because his lawyer said he is caring for his mother suffering from sepsis. Brecknell issued a warrant for Dhaliwal’s arrest upon return to Canada, but stopped short of declaring that he had absconded from justice.
Brecknell said four members of the Peebles family from Alberta were travelling to Prince George to celebrate Christmas on Dec. 21, 2021 in an extended Dodge Ram pickup truck. Dhaliwal was going the opposite direction in a Volvo tractor unit pulling an empty freight trailer when the crash happened near Crescent Spur. Nate succumbed to his injuries and father Peter was seriously injured. Mother Erika and sister Grace suffered lesser injuries.
“Nothing in this decision will return a young child to his family,” Brecknell said. “Nothing in this decision will properly address the enduring grief the family has and will continue to experience. Nothing in this decision will alleviate the guilt felt by the person whose actions bring him before the court for sentencing. The purpose of this decision is to impose a just and appropriate sentence.”
Brecknell found Dhaliwal guilty on two counts of driving without due care and attention last October after a four-day trial last August. The Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt that Dhaliwal drove without regard for the safety of others and the crash was avoidable.
“Mr. Dhaliwal was a professional driver and owed a higher duty of care to others on the road. He was driving inappropriately for road and weather conditions, he was driving into an area that is notorious for accidents and the collision caused Nate’s death,” Brecknell said.
“The mitigating factors include that Mr. Dhaliwal has no criminal driving record. He’s taken rehabilitative driving courses even prior to trial and he remained at the scene of the collision and co-operated fully with the RCMP.”
Brecknell sentenced Dhaliwal to the first count and stayed the other, due to a court rule against convicting someone on a second charge stemming from the same circumstances. Brecknell left Dhaliwal’s driving prohibition for the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles to decide.
Dhaliwal has more than two years, until July 31, 2027, to pay the fine. Beginning Sept. 1, 2027, he must pay at least $300 a month directly to the Peebles. The restitution is a fraction of the $218,551.44 they sought for replacement of their vehicle, compensation for medical costs, loss of work and opportunity and Nate’s funeral in Edmonton.
Brecknell received several victims’ impact statements, including one from Nate’s sister, who feels sad and lonely without her younger brother, and Nate’s grandparents, who feel responsible for the Peebles travelling to visit them.
“Christmas will always be a joyless time, and they will never ask other family members to travel during that season,” Brecknell said.
Brecknell said he did not have confidence the sentence would be a strong deterrent, “unless it was brought to the attention of the public in general and professional drivers in particular.” He also acknowledged the Crown determined the charge, based on substantial likelihood of conviction and public interest.
“Whenever there is a death arising from the actions of another party, the family of the deceased, and the public in general, rightly consider it to be very tragic and serious. However, it is important to reiterate that Mr. Dhaliwal was charged with and was convicted of a regulatory, as opposed to a criminal, offence.”
Crown prosecutor Tyson Gamble unsuccessfully urged Brecknell to declare that Dhaliwal had absconded, because he had “absented himself” when he bought a plane ticket and left the country.
Defence lawyer Sukh Kalkat argued his client had been “psychologically destroyed” and his mother needs a full-time caregiver at this time. As Dhaliwal looked into the camera, his mouth not seen on screen, Kalkat said Dhaliwal is eager to return to Alberta to work as a local delivery driver in order to support his daughter, pay a mortgage and the restitution to the Peebles.
“There may well be an argument to be made that Mr. Dhaliwal should be found in contempt in the face of the court, for not following the court’s directions. But that’s neither before me today nor something I need to decide today,” Brecknell said.
Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen
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