The widower of a Calgary woman struck down by a blacked-out motorist said not only has his family suffered a tragic loss but the whole world has as well.
In a victim impact statement read in court by Crown prosecutor Kane Richards, Suneet Sharma said he and his late wife, Anjna, looked forward to growing old together.
“I expected to live my entire life with Anjna, we loved each other so much and we were truly soulmates,” the Calgary man wrote.
“I am trying to put word to my feelings today, a broken person, who has lost every sense of normality — a person who grieves the loss of Anjna, not only for myself, but for our daughters Saniya and Archisha and our son, Rudransh, and for the world that has no idea what a wonderful person they are missing.”
The husband’s statement was just one of a heart-wrenching series prepared by the Calgary woman’s loved ones.
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They were presented at the sentencing hearing of the motorist who struck her down while she walked near Sunridge Mall on May 23, 2017.
James Ian Beagrie pleaded guilty last September to dangerous driving causing death in connection with the deadly collision, which occurred after he suffered a brain tumour-related blackout moments earlier and lost control of his pickup truck.
Richards noted Beagrie had been warned not to drive and had experienced several blackouts prior to the crash which killed Anjna Sharma, 48.
The prosecutor, who is seeking a prison term of 30 months, said he could not express any more eloquently than the woman’s family did the loss they have suffered.
“A beautiful person was taken far too early and far too violently from this world,” he told Justice Richard Neufeld.
“He chose to drive that day after being told not to.”
But defence lawyer Allan Fay said the minimum federal term of two years in prison would be an adequate punishment for his client.
Fay said that unlike many motorists who kill while behind the wheel, Beagrie didn’t intentionally drive in a reckless manner before the fatal crash.
And he said Beagrie is devastated by the death of Sharma.
“He accepts full responsibility for occasioning this horrific loss on the family of the deceased,” Fay said.
“Mr. Beagrie regrets that every day.”
Before adjourning his sentencing decision Neufeld told the widower and Sharma’s youngest daughter, Archisha, who were seated in the gallery, that whatever punishment he hands Beagrie, it’s not to be misconstrued as placing a limited value on her loss.
The judge will sentence Beagrie on Thursday.
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
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