Fellow rider lost

I added the following words to the Online Guestbook:
.....

When we lose someone we love, it seems that time forever stands still. What moves through us is a silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, some more words, one more hug, we may not understand why he left this earth so soon, or why he left before you were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that he's not with us, but how he loved you and life. And that his life gave us memories too beautiful to forget.
Please accept my heartfelt sympathy on the passing of your Husband and Father.
Sorrowfully,
Richard E Massey

 

It's very moving to see all the messages of sympathy for Tom and his family. I just would like remind everyone to please contact the Prosecutor in this case. You can find his email, phone number and address in the first message in this thread.

Realistically, the chances of the driver being charged with the most serious offense in this type of situation, Dangerous Driving Causing Death (Ontario's term for Vehicular Manslaughter) is unlikely. It carries a maximum of 14 years in prison but is rarely applied.
But if we demand the most severe charges possible be laid, the Prosecutor might be nudged toward working hard to secure a Careless Driving Causing Death conviction. This carries a maximum of 6 months in jail but it too is rarely handed out.
However, a lawyer I spoke to said the Prosecutor in charge of the case will be able to use all the messages demanding justice as ammuniation to help convince the judge and/or jury that the driver should get at least 3 to 4 months behind bars and a 10 year driving ban, along with a fine in the tens of thousands of dollars.

I know none of that will bring Tom back but more serious consequences for careless or dangerous drivers might wake up all drivers to the fact that they aren't the only ones on the road.