Drunk driver, mother who lied to police plead guilty in fatal crash that killed 24-year-old woman

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This article was published 15/05/2023 (845 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The morning after Mother’s Day, a grieving mom was in a Winnipeg courtroom to hear a drunk driver accept responsibility for ending her 24-year-old daughter’s life last spring.

“There is no justice,” Karen Reimer said outside the Law Courts Building Monday, alongside her other three daughters and their father, Doug.

“But we do want accountability.”

Dozens of family members, friends and supporters who’d packed the courtroom — most wore purple T-shirts with Jordyn Reimer’s face printed on them — stood nearby.

Tyler Scott Goodman, 29, pleaded to impaired driving causing death and failing to remain at the scene after a high-speed crash on a quiet Transcona street.

Goodman blew through a stop sign as he drove his pickup truck at 108 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. He slammed into Reimer’s Jeep at Kildare Avenue West and Bond Street shortly after 2 a.m. on May 1, 2022, according to an agreed statement of facts Crown prosecutor Matt Armstrong read to court.

Reimer, who had been a designated driver during a night out with friends and family, was rushed to Health Sciences Centre after Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews raced to pull her from the wreckage. She died a short time later of injuries described as “catastrophic.”

Court was told Goodman and his three passengers took off down an alleyway despite pleas from nearby residents, who’d gone outside after the crash to confront them, to wait for police.

Armstrong said residents heard one of the passengers say words to the effect of “grab the beer,” referring to the 15-pack the group had bought at Joe’s Pandora Inn — where they had spent the night drinking — to take to a party. One of the truck’s occupants took the case, stood in a nearby alley, and then took off.

“As they walked away, multiple witnesses told them to stay. They did not,” Armstrong said.

An acquaintance at the bar had tried to stop Goodman from getting behind the wheel after having smelled booze on him, Armstrong told court.

In her statement to police, the acquaintance said she knew he was drinking.

“‘Obviously… he was drunk. I could smell it on him,’” Armstrong said, quoting the woman’s statement.

She took his keys — but one of his friends took them back, claiming he would drive Goodman’s truck. That man was a passenger in the truck when Goodman killed Reimer.

“As Tyler Goodman was leaving, (the acquaintance) told him to come with her in her vehicle. Tyler Goodman told her, ‘It’s OK, I’ll meet you at the after party, I’ll see you there, it’ll be fine,’” Armstrong said.

Court was told Goodman had consumed nine or 10 drinks at the bar — mostly beer, but also about four shots of a tequila liqueur — from about 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The passengers and Goodman climbed into his truck, which had been parked at the back of the bar, and took off.

“Tyler Goodman drove at a high rate of speed after leaving Joe’s Pandora. He was seen driving through a stop sign at the intersection of Bond Street and Ravelston Avenue. A resident had looked out their window and seen him drive past. The resident estimated the truck was driving 80 kilometres per hour,” said Armstrong, noting that first stop sign was four blocks south of the collision site.

Other witnesses saw the vehicle speeding and revving its engine as it ran the stop sign at Bond Street and Kildare Avenue.

“Jordyn Reimer approached the intersection as she continued west on Kildare Avenue. Tyler Goodman drove north on Bond Street, toward the same intersection,” Armstrong said.

“The front end of Tyler Goodman’s vehicle crashed into the driver’s side of Jordyn Reimer’s vehicle.”

Tyler’s mother, Laurie Lynn Goodman, 57, was in court Monday to plead guilty to obstruction of justice before provincial court Judge Kael McKenzie.

Tyler had called his mother shortly after the crash and asked to be picked up at the Dairy Queen on Victoria Avenue East, several blocks south of the collision scene. She picked him up at 2:32 a.m.

At mid-day on May 1, Goodman’s mother took him to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries. Then she took him to Winnipeg Police Service headquarters around 10:45 p.m., where he turned himself in.

Tyler admitted to police he had driven the vehicle and had been drinking, but he claimed he walked home.

His mother told two police constables she did not know how he had arrived home on the night of the crash and that she hadn’t seen him until the morning after. Both lies resulted in her being charged with obstruction.

She and her son will be sentenced at a later date. Their defence offered no comment. The pair will remain out on bail until the sentencing hearing.

Karen Reimer said she was sad and frustrated that it took the Goodmans a year to enter guilty pleas — while scared and worried about the sentence they’ll receive.

“I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know how to put it into words… It’s like everything’s just reopened, for me it feels like it was… yesterday,” said Doug.

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“It’s not right.”

The parents stood with their three daughters, tearful at times.

“These are not decent human beings. They deserve the maximum sentence,” said Alex Reimer, 29, about the Goodmans.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @erik_pindera

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.