A Bracebridge man was sentenced to three years in prison today after pleading guilty to impaired driving in a crash that left the passenger paralyzed.
Earlier today, Steven Brazier, 32, was in a Bracebridge courtroom for sentencing after pleading guilty last year to impaired driving causing bodily harm
Court previously heard that on Aug. 20, 2021, at roughly 11:40 pm Brazier and another man were driving on Milford Bay Road when Brazier lost control of the pick-up truck he was driving. The truck crossed the road and went into the ditch colliding with a granite outcropping. The truck then rolled over completely and came to rest on its wheels.
Witnesses saw Brazier leaving the scene and described him as visibly intoxicated and “walking like a zombie,” court heard.
The passenger in the vehicle was left badly injured, eventually being airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He was ultimately left paralyzed from the waist down and will be in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life, court heard.
At roughly 12:40 am police discovered Brazier nearby. The police found an imprint of the steering wheel in his chest and suspected that he was driving while impaired, which subsequent blood tests later confirmed.
An analysis of the airbag mechanism in the truck determined that Brazier had been driving at 130 km an hour in a posted 40 km/hr zone five seconds before the collision, court heard.
Court heard both men had been at a social gathering prior to the crash. The victim had said he was too impaired to drive home but Brazier had indicated that he was capable of driving home, court heard.
In delivering her sentence today Justice Sarah Tarcza said the victim is now confined to a retirement home and expected to be there for the remainder of his life. He has no fine motor skills and can’t type or write. The victim spent nine months in hospital following the accident, during which time he missed his father’s funeral.
Victim impact statements detailed the devastating effect of the injuries on the financial and mental well-being of the victim and his entire family.
Tarcza said it was aggravating that the accident occurred just two years after Brazier’s last conviction for impaired driving. She also cited the excessive speed and leaving the scene of the accident without calling for help.
“It was a callous, cowardly and selfish thing to have done,” she said.
In addition to the jail sentence, Brazier was banned from driving for three years.
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