A Central Saanich man who struck and killed a Victoria woman with his vehicle and critically injured her sister has been convicted of impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm.
Anthony Thomas, 29, was behind the wheel of a new Jeep when he struck and killed Kim Ward and caused serious injury to her sister Tracey Ward just after 7 p.m. on Aug. 27, 2018.
Ward, 51, was a Victoria massage therapist who had worked with some of Canada’s top athletes at two Olympics. At the time of her death, Ward and her sister were visiting their mother. Tracey Ward, now 51, has never recovered from her injuries and now lives in a care facility.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brian MacKenzie also convicted Thomas of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and two other charges of having a detectable level of methamphetamine in his blood after causing the crash that resulted in death and bodily harm.
Throughout the 90-minute decision, Thomas slouched forward in the prisoner’s box. His friends and family members could be heard crying in the courtroom.
MacKenzie ordered a pre-sentence report and a Gladue report, which considers the unique circumstances of Indigenous offenders.
“It’s a solemn day. A young man has been found guilty of a very serious offence,” Crown prosecutor Tim Stokes said outside court. “The victim’s family and the victims will hopefully get some closure from this. But it’s not a happy time.”
The Crown will look at the circumstances of the offences and offender, review pertinent case law and make a submission to the court about an appropriate sentence, said Stokes. A date for sentencing will be scheduled on April 6.
Ellen Ward, Kim and Tracey’s mother, said she was satisfied that Thomas was convicted on all six counts and is hoping for justice at the sentencing.
“He took two vital people away from this Earth and he’s just ruined my life and my retirement,” said Ward. “It never leaves you. You just have this grief with you all the time. And caring for Tracey, it’s really hard. So I hope to see some justice for both Kim and Tracey.”
The trial heard that just before the fatal collision, Thomas rear-ended another driver on Mount Newton Cross at Lochside Drive. Moments later, he was driving down Central Saanich Road, where the Ward sisters were walking their dogs. Thomas passed out at the wheel and the Jeep crossed the centre line into the northbound lane, then travelled onto a grassy boulevard, striking the two women.
RCMP forensic toxicologist Kimberly Young testified that there was 297 nanograms of methamphetamine, 39 nanograms of amphetamine and 14 nanograms of Alprazolam or Xanax in one millilitre of Thomas’s blood. It was a “potentially toxic level of methamphetamine,” said Young.
There is no dispute that the collision was caused by Thomas passing out and that he voluntarily took methamphetamine prior to the collision, said MacKenzie, noting that extreme fatigue is a well-known side-effect of the crash phase of methamphetamine.The drugs Thomas ingested before the collision caused his loss of consciousness and impaired his ability to drive, he concluded.
After taking drugs and being involved in the fender-bender, Thomas should have realized he was putting himself and others at risk by continuing to drive, said the judge. He was unconscious while the vehicle travelled for about 100 metres.
“Mr. Thomas’s dangerous conduct in driving under the influence of these drugs was so seriously deficient as to justify criminal sanctions,” said MacKenzie.
A reasonable person in Thomas’s position would have been aware of the risks and would not have continued to drive, said the judge.
Ellen Ward, 81, has launched a civil suit against Thomas, a woman who signed a purchase agreement to buy the Jeep, and the car dealership.
ldickson@timescolonist.com
