A woman from Dresden has been sentenced to five years in jail and will be banned from driving for eight years for killing her friend Gabrielle Emery in 2021.
On Tuesday afternoon, Arielle Wall, 22, was sentenced in Superior Court of Justice in Chatham. The court room was packed with family and friends from both sides.
In September of 2023, Wall was convicted of impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing death and having a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit of 80. However, she was acquitted on the charge of dangerous driving causing death.
A devastated Emery family was split over the sentence. Gabrielle's aunt wanted a lifetime driving ban, while her grandmother and mother said the punishment is fair.
Gabrielle's emotional aunt Sheryl Emery said the sentence should have been harsher.
"I don't think she should ever drive again because my niece will never see another birthday again, period," said Emery.
Gabrielle's grandmother Annette Caron said she's relieved the court case is over and wants this tragedy to serve as a warning to the public to not drink an drive.
"Gabrielle was the only granddaughter I had," said Caron.
Gabrielle's mother Amber was too emotional to speak at length, but said she agreed with the sentence handed down.
The Emery family was also worried that Wall would only get house arrest because they felt "a slap on the wrist" would send the wrong message to people.
The prosecution was asking for six years in jail and a 10 year driving ban, while the defence was asking for less than two years house arrest and a driving ban of 3-5 years.
The judge said less than two years was "insufficient" to deter drinking and driving.
The judge said factors that went into his decision was that Wall didn't have a prior criminal or driving record and the drowning death of her father when she was just 8 years old while he was trying to rescue her, a death that still haunts Wall, said the judge.
Other factors cited include the fact that Wall hasn't drank alcohol since the fatal crash almost three years ago, she is remorseful and ashamed, Gabrielle's young age and her untapped potential that will never be realized, and the fact that Wall has attended counselling.
"The degree of moral blame is high," said the judge, adding that Wall should have known better than to drink and drive.
Wall has admitted she wishes she could go back in time and not drink and drive and has expressed her desire to trade places with Gabrielle, something the judge said was no consolation for the Emery family.
The judge read out letters of support for Wall that called her a good person who made a bad decision that she "deeply" regrets.
"She showed poor judgement," the judge said.
Wall was handcuffed and escorted from the court room in tears.
The crash on Longwoods Road near Centre Side Road just east of Chatham on April 12, 2021 claimed the life of Wall's close friend, Gabrielle Emery, 19, who was also from Dresden.
Emery was a passenger in Wall's vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene while Wall was taken to the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance with injuries that she is still recovering from.
The vehicle crossed the centre line on the road and crashed into a tree during wet road conditions just after midnight at a bend in the road.
"Damage to the vehicle was frighteningly extensive," the judge said in handing down his sentence on Tuesday.
The court previously heard during a week-long trial in May that Wall had red, glassy eyes when first responders arrived, was joking with paramedics, and admitted to drinking alcohol before driving, but was not on any medication.
