No jail time for drunk driver who killed best friend

A Manitoba mother of four who is responsible for a drunk driving crash that killed her best friend has been spared from jail in favour of two years of house arrest.

Jayden Starr Okemow pleaded guilty to one count of driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 causing death for the May 2023 crash that killed 23-year-old Haylee Linklater.

Provincial court Judge Wanda Garreck ruled Okemow’s personal history as an Indigenous woman and clear remorse justified a restorative justice sentence, in her written decision released last month.

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of five years in prison.

However, the judge said Okemow “lost her best friend and roommate and knows she will carry the weight of that loss as she tries to move on with her life and raise her children.”

An agreed statement of facts provided to court says Okemow, then 20, and Linklater were at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Beach campground when they decided to drive to the beach and Okemow got behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit for driving.

Okemow was driving through a residential zone at 83 km/h, which was 33 kilometres over the speed limit, when she lost control of her car, which hit an embankment and travelled 24 metres in the air before crashing and rolling on its side.

Linklater was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle. She died at the scene.

The judge acknowledged conditional sentences served in the community are rarely imposed for such offences and cited the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark Gladue and Ipeelee decisions, which mandate that courts consider historic and systemic factors that have resulted in the over-incarceration of Indigenous offenders.

“I am satisfied that this is one of the ‘clearest of cases’ for imposing a sentence that is significantly outside the usual range for this offence,” Garreck said.

A pre-sentence report provided to court said Okemow has a family history of residential school involvement and substance abuse, had spent years in foster care and struggled with her mental health and thoughts of suicide. She is the sole caregiver to four children, the oldest of whom has special needs, and has been the victim of domestic violence at the hands of two partners, one of whom is in prison for assaulting her.

Okemow has maintained sobriety since the crash, has demonstrated “significant maturity and growth” as she manages her parenting responsibilities with little support and wants to further her education, Garreck said.

“She has made significant changes in her life,” she said. “I am satisfied a penitentiary term is not necessary to satisfy denunciation and deterrence in this case.”

Tanya Hansen-Pratt, national president of MADD Canada, said the organization’s focus remains on victims, but she appreciates the court’s need to address the individual circumstances of offenders.

“We are concerned about victims and stopping this violent crime but understand there is more involved in every case,” Hansen-Pratt said.

“We know we want to send a message of deterrence… but we also have to step back and trust that the courts are doing their due diligence for offenders and their families as well,” she said.

Garreck sentenced Okemow to an additional two years of supervised probation and prohibited her from driving for six years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca