Listen to this'Kids will be kids' claim insults victims, teens
She was 17 when she ignored her friends' pleas and resisted their attempts to take her keys away. She got behind the wheel following a night of partying and drinking. Throw in a few other easily preventable actions – speeding, texting and running a red light – and the results were catastrophic. Two young Winnipeg women were dead and three others were seriously injured.
It is the kind of senseless tragedy that leaves society shaking its collective head.
But there's something else about this case that is leaving a bitter taste: Her lawyer painting this crime as some kind of predictable youthful indiscretion that we shouldn't be so quick to judge.
"The reality is she was acting like a typical teenager, not thinking things through," defence lawyer Todd Bourcier told a Winnipeg courtroom last week as his now 21-year-old client pleaded for leniency at her sentencing hearing. She wants probation under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, while the Crown wants a five-year adult penalty.
A verdict is expected this spring.
Bourcier wasn't just referring to her poor choices leading up to the crash, but the young woman's questionable actions in the aftermath. They included asking police about her "precious" driver's licence, wondering if she could still drink alcohol on her upcoming 18th birthday and posting insensitive selfies on social media of her partying with liquored-up pals.
Bourcier may have been trying to put his client in the best possible light while her future hangs in the balance. But, in the process, he tarnished a generation of young people by insinuating such behaviour is to be expected.
"That was a complete insult, especially considering the courtroom was packed with young kids. We all sat there with a look of disbelief," Yohanna Asghedom told the Free Press.
She suffered massive injuries in the October 2010 crash – broken ribs, hips and elbow – and was bed-ridden for months. Her two good friends, Amutha Subramaniam, 17, and Senhit Mehari, 19, were killed when the young driver went through a red light while speeding and texting. A fourth friend, Lisbeth Arthur, spent weeks in a coma and suffered a permanent brain injury.
They were on their way home from a Halloween party. Both deceased were graduates of Dakota Collegiate and were studying business administration at the University of Manitoba.
"His entire defence was insulting to all youth in Winnipeg. He essentially said we all drink and drive. That's so offensive," said Asghedom, who gave an eloquent statement in court. "No, I don't think all youth in Winnipeg drink and drive all the time. No, I don't think it's fair to say that she just got unlucky she hit us. It was ludicrous in my opinion."
She's not alone.
Floyd Wiebe did a double-take when he read the defence lawyer's comments. He has no connection to the case and wasn't in the courtroom. But Wiebe knows plenty about youthful indiscretions, having seen both the worst and best society has to offer.
His 20-year-old son, T.J., was slain in 2003 by a group of young friends who conspired to kill him.
Wiebe and his wife Karen, a Winnipeg school teacher, devote much of their lives to TJs Gift Foundation, which rewards young people who pledge to live a drug-free lifestyle and educate their peers. They speak in dozens of schools annually while hosting fundraisers such as the Rockin For Choices concert later this month.
"I was livid. How dare he compare his client to typical teenagers? I speak to thousands of teenagers a year about their ability to make choices and not typify them as being incapable of such decisions," Wiebe said. He challenged Bourcier to think about his wording and even publicly debate the issue. "I have no interest in discussing his client or the case itself, but I do challenge his choice of words used to defend his client in open court," Wiebe said. "Or, is this a typical defence lawyer, not thinking things through," he added, tongue-in-cheek.
Statistics show young drivers account for the highest per capita injury and death rate when it comes to impaired driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving says 16- to 25-year-olds constituted 13.6 per cent of the population in 2010, but made up almost 33.4 per cent of alcohol-related traffic deaths. On the national MADD website, the organization cites "inexperience and immaturity" as the two biggest factors.
At last week's sentencing hearing, court heard how the young driver told police she knew it was a poor choice, but did it anyway.
"People had to die for me to know it was wrong," she explained. She added there were at least "three or four" other times she'd driven after drinking.
"These are the thought patterns of a young person, that nothing bad could happen, that I will drive home and it will be fine," her lawyer said in his submission.
Asghedom said it's shocking the driver believes deaths had to occur for the message to get through. She noted there is a mountain of information in the public domain, especially geared toward young drivers, that warns them of the risks.
"It's ridiculously offensive to say that. I can't believe she had the audacity to say that," she said.
Asghedom said it's unfortunate some may conclude the case is "kids being kids" rather than look at it for what it is: an individual who ignored the perils, even from her own peers, and made a deadly decision while showing little empathy for the victims.
She hopes the public will keep in mind the actions of others involved in this case – the peers who tried to stop the driver, friends and classmates who have condemned her actions and the positive contributions to society made by those who were killed and injured.
That, she said, is much more "typical teenaged behaviour."
Mike McIntyre
04/7/2015
