‘Not a momentary lapse’: judge sends man to prison after fatal drunk collision

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This article was published 07/03/2023 (1000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba man responsible for a fatal highway collision while “significantly intoxicated” on booze and meth has been sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison.

Kristopher Ranville, 42, was convicted after trial of driving dangerous causing death, three counts of driving dangerous causing bodily harm, obstructing police and related alcohol and drug driving offences.

Ranville denied being behind the wheel of a Chrysler 300 sedan at the time of the February 2020 collision that claimed the life of his front-seat passenger and girlfriend, 21-year-old Brandee-Alexa McKay, and was not arrested until five months later.

“This was not a momentary lapse,” provincial court Judge Sam Raposo told Ranville at a sentencing hearing Monday. “You were driving while significantly intoxicated… Your moral blameworthiness is very high. I accept you did not set out to kill Ms. McKay, but you were responsible.”

Court heard Ranville was initially a passenger in the vehicle as it set out en route to Winnipeg from Dauphin, and was intoxicated by alcohol and meth when he took the wheel after stopping for fuel.

Ranville was heading east on Highway 68 when he blew through a stop sign and T-boned a northbound Jeep Cherokee on Highway 6 at Eriksdale. According to a collision reconstructionist, Ranville’s vehicle was travelling 115 km/h five seconds before the collision and 57 km/h at the time of impact.

McKay had to be extricated from the vehicle by emergency responders and was pronounced dead a short time later. Two of Ranville’s other passengers were injured and taken to hospital, as was the driver of the Jeep Cherokee, who was driving home to Ashern with his son following a hockey practice.

Ranville and another man in the vehicle told police at the scene another man had been driving but ran away after the crash.

Ranville’s criminal record includes multiple driving offence convictions. At the time of the collision, Ranville was suspended from driving for life by Manitoba Public Insurance.

Two months after the collision, Ranville was charged with dangerous driving and flight from police following an incident in the Brandon area.

“Mr. Ranville was involved in an incredibly serious collision — his girlfriend died — but that didn’t dissuade him from driving after the incident,” said Crown attorney Inderjit Singh.

Ranville received credit for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to just over six years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca