CORNER BROOK — Nothing short of tragic is how Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Justice Frances Knickle describes the victim impact statement of a west coast man injured in a car accident just over three years ago.
Katlin Payne, the Cox’s Cove man responsible for that accident, was sentenced to 12 months in jail by Knickle last week.
Payne had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing bodily harm and two counts of breaching a recognizance.
An agreed statement of facts indicated that Payne was under the influence of alcohol and other substances when he drove at an excessive speed and crashed head-on into the oncoming vehicle of his victim on Aug. 4, 2017.
The man was on his way home from work when the accident occurred at 11:55 p.m. near the plant hill area of Irishtown-Summerside.
The man was halfway up the hill when he noticed headlights coming towards him in his own lane. The vehicle was driving excessively fast and the man had no time to avoid it, and the two vehicles collided head-on.
The man was trapped in his vehicle, while Payne was ejected and was found lying in a ditch in his boxer shorts close to where his vehicle ended up.
The victim’s injuries included an externally rotated leg, a deformed arm/hand, open fractures on his lower limbs, a lacerated liver and abrasions to his head. He had to be intubated and was in the intensive care unit for six weeks. The man spent six months in the hospital recovering from his injuries.
Payne was described as being conscious and combative by emergency medical services personnel at the scene. There was a strong smell of alcohol on him.
His injuries were summarized by a physician at the hospital as scrapes and abrasions over his hip and knuckles. He had a fractured vertebrae, which wasn’t displaced, a severe pulmonary contusion and two fractured ribs. Payne spent just a few days in hospital.
Toxicology tests from the hospital returned a presumptive positive result for cocaine and cannabis and alcohol levels above the legal limit. Further testing by the RCMP forensic laboratory confirmed the presence of cocaine and cannabis in Payne’s blood.
A blood alcohol content of 179 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood was recorded on a sample of Payne’s blood that was drawn at the hospital at 1:20 a.m. An extrapolation of this reading determined that at the time of the accident his blood alcohol level would have been between 194-200 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. In Canada, the legal limit is under 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.
A collision analyst report put the speed of Payne’s vehicle at 129 kilometres per hour. There were no mechanical faults identified when the vehicle was inspected and it was noted that the driver’s seatbelt was unbuckled at impact.
In his victim impact statement, the man said he still struggles to do everyday chores and gets frustrated easily with simple tasks, which limit what he does. He has to rely on others to complete chores around his house.
Payne developed an addiction to cocaine as an adult and since the accident has taken steps to address his substance abuse. He has also developed mental health issues since the accident. And while he has no recollection of what happened, he accepts responsibility for his conduct.
Payne’s sentence has been reduced by 24 days to reflect time spent on remand, for a total of 10 months and 36 days remaining to be served.
He had been prohibited from driving for almost three years and a further driving prohibition of two years was imposed. He’ll also be subject to two years’ supervised probation following his imprisonment.
diane.crocker@thewesternstar.com
Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
