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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
30 days for deadly inattention
Driver's error killed woman in crosswalk
Joanna Storm was hit in a pedestrian crosswalk and killed on April 13, 2011.
Police (above) work on Henderson Highway between Mossdale Avenue and Frasers Grove, where pedestrian Joanna Storm died. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store
It was a momentary lapse in attention that took a young woman's life, and now a Winnipeg man is headed to jail for running her over in a pedestrian corridor.
Jarrett Carleton was sentenced to 30 days behind bars after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death following the April 2011 collision on Henderson Highway.
The 23-year-old victim, Joanna Storm, had activated the crosswalk light before she was struck by Carleton's 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix.
Provincial court Judge Marva Smith rejected the Crown's request for a two-year jail sentence, saying little would be accomplished with such a stiff penalty. Carleton, 19, has no prior criminal record, expressed sincere remorse and has strong family and community support.
"There is nothing the justice system can do to make up for such a terrible loss," Smith said in a 36-page written decision handed down last week.
Speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash. Carleton simply failed to notice the other vehicles that had stopped for Storm and later told police he didn't realize there could be someone crossing the street.
"The dangerous driving here constituted a very brief, albeit absolutely tragic, period of inattention or lack of focus by this young driver, lasting mere seconds," Smith said.
"Obviously, every driver must approach every pedestrian corridor on full alert."
Carleton's lawyer, Hymie Weinstein, sought a community-based sentence such as probation that would keep him out of custody.
But Smith said a short period of custody is required, followed by two years of supervised probation and 200 hours of community service.
Carleton is also banned from driving for 18 months.
"Any period in a correctional institution is significant for a youthful first offender. Combining incarceration with substantial community service will not only result in a proportionate and deterrent sentence, but one that will serve restorative justice and rehabilitative ends," Smith said.
Storm was described by family and friends in court as a "joyful young woman, a gifted musician, a bilingual award-winning Royal Canadian Navy cadet whose special capacity for compassion and empathy and commitment to equality touched the lives of those she met."
Storm grew up in Alberta and moved to Winnipeg in 2008. She had been working full-time before her death.
"Her life was cut short before she could live out her obvious great potential, resulting in a loss to our community that is immeasurable," Smith said in her decision.
www.mikeoncrime.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 2, 2012 A5
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