The Provincial Court judge who will sentence the Squamish man who pleaded guilty to a deadly 2022 drunk driving hit-and-run said Aug. 12 that he would reserve his decision until later in September.
During the two-day sentencing hearing in North Vancouver, Crown prosecutor Michaela Donnelly asked Judge Timothy Hinkson to send John Tristan Travis Cernos to jail for five years for impaired driving and dangerous operation causing the death of Gurpreet Sangha, 44, impaired driving and dangerous operation causing bodily harm to another woman and failing to remain at the scene.
Cernos’s lawyer Meghan Forhan sought a three-year sentence.
“Nobody will be surprised by the fact that I'm reserving my decision,” Hinkson said at the end of proceedings. He told the Crown and defence lawyers to meet the judicial case manager on Aug. 19 to schedule a 90-minute hearing during the week starting Sept. 22.
“I acknowledge that this case is a matter of utmost importance, to the victims and their families, to Mr. Cernos and his family, and to the community in general, I know that everyone affected by these events will want to know what my decision is as soon as possible,” Hinkson said. “I want you to know that I will not be able to give you a decision until mid-September, at the earliest. I am going to be away.”
Cernos crashed a 1999 Ford F-250 into the bus stop at Cleveland and Pemberton avenues before midnight on Sept. 2, 2022. He admitted in January of this year to the charges against him, thus cancelling what would have been a two-month trial. That is a mitigating factor, Forhan said, weighs heavily in favour of a lighter sentence.
Cernos addressed the court earlier on Aug. 12, to express remorse and shame for the decisions he made that night almost three years ago. He said he drives past the accident site daily on the way to
work and is constantly reminded of the tragedy. He said he has not consumed alcohol since then, regularly attends counselling and is working hard to better himself. Cernos said his wife now faces life as a single parent when his jail sentence begins.
“I take full accountability for my actions, for every person affected by them,” Cernos said before Hinkson. “Once again, I want to express how truly sorry I am. I know, like, not asking for forgiveness, but I will live with this for the rest of my life. A day will not go by, that I don't think about the victims and the damage I've caused two families.”
Lawyers elaborated on their initial submissions during the second day, often returning to the issue of Cernos’s history of substance abuse. The Crown also emphasized the aggravating factor of Cernos’s decision to flee the crash scene, instead of helping the victims.
Forhan noted Cernos has a well-documented history of substance abuse disorder that he overcame in 2015. He then began to experience a resurgence of cravings after he was weaned off methadone in April 2021.
“He then started drinking. So he's drinking in order to kind of stave-off the drug addiction that we all agree existed,” she said.
Forhan said for the four months before the crash, “that alcohol addiction took hold, it became severe.”
In her rebuttal, Donnelly emphasized how Cernos’ decision to drive on the night of the crash put many others, beyond the two victims, in jeopardy.
“Either while intoxicated or in the interest of getting intoxicated, he made very poor decisions and it shows that he suffered negative consequences for that long history,” Donnelly said.
