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Drunk driver jailed four months for crash that injured woman

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 08/10/2012 1:17 PM | Comments: 0

A Winnipeg man has been sentenced to four months in jail for a drunken car crash that injured a young woman.

Gordon Scully pleaded guilty last month to impaired driving causing bodily harm in the 2010 incident. He returned to court Friday to learn his fate.

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Scully, 46, was seeking a fine, citing several other case precedents where such a penalty was imposed. The Crown asked for a much stiffer sentence of six months in jail, an 18-month driving prohibition and one year of supervised probation. They called Scully a "potential killer on the road" who was in a state of "extreme intoxication" at the time of his arrest.

Provincial court Judge Tracey Lord ultimately decided that custody was needed to send a strong message to the public.

Scully has no previous criminal record and is otherwise a model citizen, court was told. He was driving home from a night at the bar when he slammed into the victim's car on Kernaghan Avenue in Transcona. The female passenger suffered serious whiplash that continues to cause pain despite months of rehabilitation. She was working as a professional model and told court her career suffered because of her injuries.

Scully initially told the police following his arrest he had consumed only two beers that evening. But a blood-alcohol reading taken two hours later registered a reading of 0.20. Experts say it would have been as high as 0.25 -- or triple the legal limit -- at the time of the crash.

"I screwed up. I hope that person is OK. I would apologize if I could," Scully told officers at the scene while displaying major signs of impairment, including slurred speech.

Scully then admitted he'd had four beers, later changing his story to eight and ultimately admitting he lost track, but it may have been more than a dozen.

Scully’s sentence comes just weeks after another Manitoba judge, Ray Wyant, proclaimed the "gloves are coming off" in impaired-driving cases. Wyant ignored a joint recommendation to fine a first-time impaired-driving offender and instead sentenced him to 14 days in jail plus a 15-month driving ban and two years of probation.

www.mikeoncrime.com

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