A North Vancouver tow truck driver has been sentenced in court after running down a blind senior in Norgate.
The incident happened on March 4, 2020 when Peter Blankenagel was turning his tow truck left from Tatlow Avenue onto Marine Drive, colliding into 91-year-old Bob Pearson who was in the marked crosswalk.
Blankenagel pleaded guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention.
In his Feb. 11 sentencing hearing, the Crown said it was only after witnesses screamed for Blankenagel to stop that he realized what had happened. By then, he’d dragged Pearson about five to eight metres, according to the police report.
Pearson’s lost his leg in the crash and he spent three months in hospital just as COVID-19 was taking hold in B.C.
Blankenagel told investigators he did not see Pearson because the sun was in his eyes. Judge Bryce Dyer acknowledged that surveillance video evidence showed the sun was bright and low in the sky, casting a shadow on the crosswalk where Pearson was walking.
“It was only nanosecond or two before the unfortunate impact that (Pearson) emerged from the shadowed area into the lit area,” he said. “The problem with driving a motor vehicle is that a split-second distraction, if indeed there was one, can lead to very grievous consequences… This is the kind of event that I have no doubt whatsoever, (Blankenagel) will always remember and it will be a factor in the care and attention that he exercises going forward.”
Blankenagel has been “devastated and remorseful” about his role in the crash, his lawyer said, and he later wrote Pearson a letter of apology.
Blankenagel’s lawyer and the Crown agreed a fine of $1,000 would be appropriate for one guilty plea in driving without due care and attention. At issue in sentencing was whether Blankenagel should also face a 12-month driving prohibition, as the Crown had sought. Blankenagel’s lawyer argued prohibitions are typically used for the protection of the public, not for further punishment of a driver. Preventing him from driving would leave Blankenagel unemployed and unlikely to be able to pay rent, he added, and given Blankenagel’s mostly clean driving record over the last 33 years, it would not be appropriate. Dyer agreed.
Dyer did however acknowledge the tremendous impact the collision has had on Pearson’s life. In his victim impact statement, Pearson spoke of how he has lost his independence, his hobbies and his ability to care for a dog. He now relies on wheelchair or walker to get around, which required substantial renovations to his home, and he continues to feel phantom pain from his amputated leg.
“My heart goes out to the man. It really does, and all the help from ICBC in the world isn't going to put the next few years of his life back to where he would have liked them to be,” he said.
In an interview, Pearson said it was a minimal sentence but he holds no bitterness towards Blankenagel.
“I know he didn’t do it intentionally,” he said. “I have no ill feelings at all and wish him well. I hope things work OK for him. It was stressful on me but I’m sure it was stressful on him too.”
Pearson said he has since been fitted for a prosthetic leg, which he is eager to get moving on.
COVID-19 is keeping him mostly housebound for now but he is adapting to life at home.
Pearson is a fixture in the Norgate neighbourhood. When he returned home from hospital, the community greeted him with a parade and he continues to be buoyed by their support,
“The neighbours have been absolutely superior. I’m really happy about that,” he said.
Life won’t be the same for him, Pearson acknowledged, but he maintains his optimism and is excited to get his COVID-19 vaccine so he can resume a more normal social life.
“What’s happened has happened and I’ll deal with it as good as I can,” he said. “No sense in looking backwards in life. You've to look forward, in my estimation.”
