The victims of a 2016 Fredericton car crash involving high speed said they do not hate the man who was behind the wheel that night.
But considering the physical and emotional injuries Pierre El-Khoury's reckless driving left them with, Shannon Dawn Brideau and Karen Peterson hoped he would go to jail Monday.
El-Khoury was in Fredericton provincial court on Monday for a sentencing hearing on two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm. He had changed his plea to guilty in February.
Judge Anne Dugas-Horsman said she needed more time to consider the case after hearing victim impact statements and recommendations from the Crown prosecutor and defence. She adjourned sentencing for the 58-year-old Fredericton man to May 26.
Car was going "extremely fast"
Pierre El-Khoury crashed the car he was driving into a tree near the Delta in Fredericton on May 7, 2016. (Facebook)
Court heard that Brideau and Peterson went to Dolan's Pub the night of May 7, and Peterson invited El-Khoury to join them. The two were friends.
Both women said they had been drinking but El-Khoury was sober when he offered to drive them to the Diplomat Restaurant on Woodstock Road around 1:30 a.m.
Peterson sat in the front, while Brideau took the seat behind her. They were talking to El-Khoury about his new Mercedes sports-car and Brideau remembers him 'peacocking' and showing off.
Several witnesses said they observed the Mercedes driving "extremely fast" that night, with its "rear wheels spinning," leaving a cloud of smoke. They also described how El-Khoury accelerated past another vehicle, which he later disputed.
El-Khoury lost control of the car at the intersection of Rookwood Avenue and Woodstock Road around 1:45 a.m. The car bounced off the curb, ran through three mailboxes and hit a power pole before it came to rest against a tree.
A collision analyst's report said the car accelerated to a minimum of 114 kilometres an hour before the crash. Brideau said she saw the speedometer go to 160 km/h. The speed limit was 50 km/h.
On Monday, Brideau told court she was scared and took out her phone to record his driving seconds before the accident. Both women also said they screamed at El-Khoury to slow down.
The recording shows the car speeding down Woodstock Road with loud music blaring. The video blurs when the car crashes, then Brideau can be heard yelling in a panic that her head is stuck and that "I can't move at all."
When the video played in court, Peterson cried with her head in her hands, and El-Khoury loudly exhaled. Afterwards, the court room fell completely silent.
Mental, physical injuries remain
Shannon Dawn Brideau and Karen Peterson said El-Khoury was sober when he offered to drive them to the Diplomat Restaurant on Woodstock Road on may 7, 2016. (Edwin Hunter/CBC)
Peterson and El-Khoury were able to leave the car after the crash. But Brideau did not wear her seatbelt and was catapulted from her seat. Her head got stuck between the armrest and the car's roof.
In a victim impact statement, she told the court that the crash caused her nerve damage and she needed surgery – a 17-centimetre (7-inch), titanium plate to fix a broken clavicle. An "angry scar" reminds her of the accident every day, she said.
She suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as severe chronic pain and a tinnitus "that drives me crazy." She was also not able to return to her career, and is struggling to make ends meet.
"Any savings are gone," she said, adding that her quality of life and her friendships "have deteriorated."
"We trusted our sober driver," she said.
Peterson broke two ribs in the crash and also suffers chronic pain. She continues to miss days at work because of it, she said.
While she is not seeing a psychologist, she hopes the sentence will give her closure. Her injuries will remain "a constant reminder of my lack of judgment that particular day."
She also said the crash changed her long friendship with Brideau and she feels "extremely angry that this happened" and in her choice of a friend in El-Khoury.
She does not care "if he's alive or dead, to be honest," she said.
Crown asks for jail time
Crown prosecutor Renée Roy said El-Khoury has a history of speeding but no criminal record. He was not impaired that night.
Drawing from other cases that involved injuries from speeding, she asked the court to sentence El-Khoury to jail time, though she left it up to the judge for how long.
Judge Dugas-Horsman said she needs to balance everything she heard today. She adjourned her sentencing decision to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 26 in Fredericton provincial court. (Edwin Hunter/CBC)
Defence lawyer Patrick Hurley stressed that El-Khoury is a first-time offender with no criminal record. He said El-Khoury took responsibility and was remorseful for what happened that night, writing a letter of apology as early as July 2016.
There seems to be no other reason for the accident other than "very, very bad judgement," he said.
He also pointed to El-Khoury's various community engagements, including fundraising and giving money to charity, stressing that he is not someone "who has to be separated from the community" by going behind bars.
He asked that the judge sentence him with a significant fine and lengthy driving prohibition, as well as community service. Prior to the crash, El-Khoury demonstrated "good judgment" for 58 years," he said.
"At his age, he ought to know better," responded Judge Dugas-Horsman.
Letter of apology
El-Khoury also read his letter of apology in court. He said he was sorry for the injuries, pain and suffering he caused the two women and their families. He also apologized to the court and to causing an embarrassment for his 19-year-old daughter, who was in the courtroom with him.
"I confess to an arrogance and stupidity that caused me to show off," he said, crying and struggling to read from the paper in his hands. "I cannot forgive myself."
The two women later told reporters that they are disappointed that El-Khoury was not sentenced today. But they appreciate that the judge is weighing all of the evidence.
"We've been looking to heal,"said Brideau.
Peterson added that it's no comfort to hear El-Khoury say that he's sorry. The sentencing may be a closure if he goes to jail, she said.
"I want him to pay," she said.
Dugas-Horsman said she needs to balance everything she heard and adjourned her sentencing decision to 1:30 p.m. on May 26 in Fredericton provincial court.
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