A 21-year-old Comox Valley man has been sentenced to 12 months of probation and been given a 10-month driving ban for a collision that killed 29-year-old Melissa Stathers in 2022.
Christopher Hoelzley must also pay a $1,200 fine and complete 25 hours of community work.
The B.C. provincial court ruling by Judge Jeremy Hermanson said that friends and relatives of Stathers described the heartbreak of her death “in moving and eloquent terms.”
“They also speak of a remarkable individual, integral to her extended family, who served her community and mentored young athletes.”
The effect of what happened has been devastating to them, Hermanson said.
“Tragedy is an understatement.”
Hoelzley pleaded guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention. The court heard he was driving home about 4 p.m. on May 11, 2022 from North Island College in Campbell River, where he was studying to be a pipefitter, when he entered a slight curve on Highway 19A and “inexplicably” crossed the double-yellow centre line — hitting Stathers’ vehicle.
The ruling said Hoelzley had no explanation for how it happened.
“There is no suggestion of intoxication, excessive speed or aggressive driving on his part.”
The impact caused both cars to “spiral and crash,” leaving Hoelzley with minor injuries and Stathers dead at the scene.
The judge said that Stathers, a teacher and coach, was about to be married when the crash happened. She and her fiancé had just moved to Courtenay and bought a house.
Six of her student athletes provided the court with descriptions of her positive influence, with two explaining how her death had affected them.
“These young women continue to struggle, all knowing that their coach and friend would want to see them excel, to live full lives, but at the same time impacted daily by a loss they still cannot comprehend,” the judge said.
Family members spoke of the “incredible hole” that Stathers’ death left in their lives.
“The sentence I impose today will not address the profound loss and the lives that have been changed forever as a result of Mr. Hoelzley’s lack of attention or momentary inattention,” the ruling said. “The law is not equipped or designed to address the exceptional loss and corresponding emotional pain.”
The ruling described Hoelzley as an introverted individual with social anxiety, and said he lives with his parents and spends his time reading and playing online chess. He had no previous record of motor-vehicle violations and there is no criminality in his background.
The driving ban he was given has affected his ability to find an apprenticeship, the judge said.
His remorse and early guilty pleas were factors in his sentencing, the ruling said. “Ms. Stathers’ death is something he will carry for the remainder of his life.”
