David Cassady was sentenced to three and half years in prison with a six-year driving suspension after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing death.
In his decision, Justice Thomas Heeney said distracted driving caused the accident that killed Donald Russell but clearly the "insanely dangerous" speed and consumption of alcohol were aggravating factors.
In July 2015, Cassady was driving on the EC Row Expy. at 190 km/hr when he struck Russell on a motorcycle. Heeney said at that speed the car was a "virtual missile" and the missile was out of control when Cassady took his eyes and mind off the road to compose a text message.
While the defence was asking for two years in prison, Heeney determined the sentence needed to act as a serious message from the court to discourage distracted driving behaviour.
Defence lawyer Andrew Bradie says he understands the sentiment, but is not confident the public will get the message.
"People seem to have been ignoring the warnings all along but it's out there, I'm confident that if it had not been for the texting this accident would not have happened," says Bradie.
Heeney also stated he did not impose a higher sentence as the crown attorney requested because it was evident Cassady took immediate responsibility for his actions and showed genuine remorse. Cassady expressed a desire to do public speaking engagements after his sentence to tell people the dangers of distracted driving.
"He will do that because he wants to atone and make good if he can at all, for what he did that night, and that's been his intention from the start," says Bradie.
The widow and sons of Russell did not want to comment following the sentencing.
