A Vancouver Island man whose boat trailer struck and killed a Ucluelet woman two years ago has been sentenced to 22 months in jail.
Van Nho Nguyen, 58, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal negligence causing death. He was sentenced on May 31 in provincial court in Port Alberni, but the judgment was released this week.
On Jan. 29, 2014, Nguyen retrieved his boat and trailer from dry-land storage in Toquart Bay. The next day, as he drove down a hill toward Ucluelet while towing the boat behind his truck, the trailer began to fishtail. He was unable to control it and the trailer swung in front of the truck. As it swung around, it struck and killed Lorraine Ennis, who was walking on a pedestrian path beside the highway.
Ennis, 77, was a much-loved mother and grandmother who was an active and valued member of her community, Judge Ted Gouge wrote in his decision.
According to the judgment, before January 2014, someone had altered the trailer hitch and removed the hydraulic cylinder, disabling the trailer’s brakes. The electrical cable had also been severed, resulting in non-functioning brake lights on the trailer.
On the day of the crash, Nguyen’s rear truck brakes were totally disabled. He had installed a new brake shoe backward on the left rear brake, causing it to fail. The truck was also about 33 per cent overweight.
Nguyen's trailer was also far too small for the boat. Its tires were old, worn and mismatched.
“It will be apparent that the accident, and the death of Ms. Ennis, were the direct result of the mechanical deficiencies of the truck and trailer, and of the size of the boat relative to the trailer,” Gouge wrote in his decision. “All of those were matters of which Mr. Nguyen ought to have been well aware, as he now concedes.”
The Crown sought a four-year prison sentence. The defence sought two years or less in jail.
Gouge imposed a 22-month jail sentence and a 10-year driving prohibition.
