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'Potential killer' gets jail term

Drunk driver's 2010 crash victim remains 'in constant pain'

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 08/11/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Crash victim Alyssa Lambert: setback to modelling career

A Winnipeg man has been sentenced to four months in jail for a drunken car crash in 2010 that devastated the career of a professional model.

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

Scully, 46, was seeking a fine, citing several precedents in which 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 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 a car on Kernaghan Avenue in Transcona. Alyssa Lambert, a passenger in the car, suffered serious whiplash that continues to cause pain despite months of rehabilitation. Her husband, who was driving the car, was not seriously injured.

Lambert works in the modelling industry and told court her career suffered because of her injuries.

"Today I am still in constant pain," she said in her victim-impact statement. One of the biggest issues is her inability to take long international flights for work because of ongoing discomfort.

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 beer, later changing his story to eight and ultimately admitting he lost track, but it may have been more than a dozen drinks.

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

Twitter: @mikeoncrime

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 11, 2012 B1

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