After five years they have some closure, but the effects of a drinking and driving crash that claimed one life and injured another will stay with them forever.
Christopher MacDonald, 29, of Vancouver, was sentenced last Thursday in Richmond provincial court to four years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to two charges related to the 2015 collision.
The two-vehicle crash on Grant McConachie Way near YVR in Richmond saw a Mercedes driven by MacDonald strike a Porsche 911 replica from behind. The impact sent the Porsche, driven by Tsawwassen resident Glenn Taylor, off the road and into a tree.
Taylor’s passenger, Marcela Avila Matamoros, 42, was pronounced dead at hospital. She was visiting from Costa Rica.
MacDonald initially pleaded not guilty to all charges at a Jan. 6 court appearance, however, he later changed his plea to guilty to charges relating to drunk driving causing bodily harm to Taylor and death of Matamoros.
The Crown accepted the not guilty plea for the remaining charges, which included dangerous driving.
Tsawwassen’s Leslie Lee, who was married to Taylor, is the father of their children and is still a business partner and friend, told the Optimist the incident has had huge, lasting impact on their family and friends.
“For every one of us involved there will never be justice for what was done because the man killed somebody, took away somebody’s daughter and somebody’s mother,” said Lee. “Glenn is alive and living, but it was devastating to him as well.
“There is an acceptance of the sentence – the most important part is that he is guilty. He is in a position where he is taking accountability for his crimes. We are satisfied with the sentencing in that it was the maximum requested sentence, so that makes us extremely happy.”
The criminal case is now over, but there is a civil case pending, so Taylor is not in a position to comment on the outcome of last week’s proceedings.
“People are blown away at how long the process takes,” she said. “A man who is a clear felon was free for five years with nothing more than a three-month suspension while the victim suffered. In our judicial system the defendant has more rights protected than victims and that is a tragedy. It’s wrong, but that’s the way it is unfortunately.”
-with files from Kirsten Clarke/Richmond News
