Brooke Nowak was sentenced to just
over a year in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by driving whilst
under the influence of alcohol.
The incident for which Nowak was
sentenced occurred 3 August, when Nowak’s Land Cruiser SUV swerved into a Honda
that was driving in the opposite direction on the Esterley Tibbetts bypass.
A passenger in the car, FederAnn
Faustino, suffered severe injuries as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead
on arrival at the George Town
Hospital.
Nowak was found to have 180
milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres in her system. The prescribed limit
is 100 milligrams per 100 millilitres.
Justice Argenon Smith, who presided
over the proceedings, said in cases of causing death by dangerous driving,
where there are aggravating circumstances such as alcohol or speed, the sentence
is a mandatory custodial one.
He cited several of the cases that
were tendered by Crown Prosecutor Elisabeth Lees as the guideline for his
ruling, several of which did not exceed three years, nor did any of those cases
feature a prison term shorter than one year.
The maximum sentence for such an
offence under the law is 10 years and a life time disqualification, though the
Justice pointed out that sentencing started at three years for the cases in
this jurisdiction, with discounts for various mitigating factors.
In this regard, Justice Smith said
he considered the timely guilty plea offered by the defendant, her genuine
remorse and the letter she wrote to him expressing sorrow and regret. He also
cited Nowak’s previous good character.
“It is clear that this type of
conduct was uncharacteristic of her. I accept her expression of remorse and
regret and her resolve to never offend in this manner again,”said Justice
Smith.
He added that there has been a
tragic loss of life and referred to the victim impact statements offered by the
victim’s family and friends, which he called, “moving”. He added that with this
in mind, it was still important to be mindful that the defendant did not intend
to harm anyone.
With the starting point being three
years, “She is entitled to a substantial discount, bringing the sentence to 15
months,” said Justice Smith, who added that Nowak would be disqualified from
driving for 5 years.
As Nowak had offered
herself up for custody before the proceedings in anticipation of a custodial
sentence, the time she has served – some seven weeks – will be taken into
account.
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This is sad story and a far too common one. I know of many people who have driven whilst over the limit here in Cayman which is something they would never do back in their home country. I am in no ways condoning drink driving as the above story clearly illustrates the devastation it can have on both parties, however, I think more needs to be done by the public transport Office (or appropiate government office) to provide a cheaper taxi service as the current rates are extortionate and deter people from using them who instead opt to drive home in an inebriated state causing a risk to themselves and innocent bystanders around them. I think an indpeth overhaul of taxi charges are well overdue. Cheaper taxi fares will result in less instances above and the savings made from the emergency services and courts dealing with these tragic events could be distributed as a grant to the taxi drivers.
agreed, the taxi fares on this island, are for a better word ‘insane’
Less than a mile drive and your paying 15CI to 20CI.
any other place would be 5 dollars at most.
Why it’s that my comment was deleted from the posted.
i just would like to add a few more, why the prosecutor(Elizabeth Lee) didn’t appeal this case,as she did for 4 teen that are serving time for the robbery at domino,for which they now have to appear in court again this month. just like how she give this girl a chance for killing someone, they should give the other 4 teen a chance too.