Woman behind wheel in highway crash that killed her passenger sentenced to 18 months in jail

A woman convicted of dangerous driving causing death in a collision on Highway 75 near Ste. Agathe in 2023 has been sent to jail for 18 months.

Provincial court Judge Dave Mann, calling it a “very difficult sentencing,” outlined the facts of the case on Tuesday before he sentenced Crystal Ann Hladik and imposed a five-year court order banning her from driving anywhere in Canada.

It was about 5 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2023, when Hladik, now 42, turned onto Highway 75 from Provincial Road 305 into the path of a semi-trailer, which struck her vehicle.

Her passenger, Carly Flowers, a 43-year-old woman who had a 20-year-old son, died at the scene after being ejected from Hladik’s vehicle.

Mann said the victim was described in court as a “kind and caring person who was full of love.”

Her death had a particularly significant impact on her son, with whom she had an “incredible bond,” the judge said, adding the man has since moved out of province because he could not deal with the pain and reminders of losing his mother.

“The impact is devastating,” said Mann, adding he hopes the victim’s son can find peace moving forward.

On the night before the collision, said Mann, Hladik and Flowers had split a 12-pack of canned vodka-soda coolers at the victim’s home. During the day of the incident, Hladik woke up late in the morning and the two of them went to get more coolers, returning at about 1 p.m.

Mann said they drank at least some of the alcohol and were drinking at about 3:30 or 4 p.m. while discussing what to have for dinner, before deciding to pick up a pizza.

The victim’s partner, who had been working on their home’s roof, told court neither of the women appeared particularly impaired. Mann found Hladik not guilty of an impaired driving charge.

The two women left the home a short time later to get dinner and drove down PR 305, Mann said.

Hladik approached the junction with Highway 75 and obeyed a stop sign before crossing the divided highway’s southbound lanes, narrowly beating a semi-trailer travelling in that direction, said Mann.

She then drove through a second stop sign between Highway 75’s north and south lanes, into the path of a northbound semi-trailer.

The victim was ejected from the vehicle, RCMP said at the time, and Hladik was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. The semi driver wasn’t hurt.

“While she was not going excessively fast, she did not even slow down for the stop sign. She then drove straight in the path of a large semi truck that had the right of way and would have been clearly visible,” said Mann.

A passerby who stopped at the collision scene found her agitated — perhaps in shock — but did not notice signs of impairment. A police officer did not think she was impaired, either.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca