Impaired driver with kids in vehicle sent to jail

A man who drove impaired and ended up in an accident with three children in the vehicle was sentenced to two months in jail on Thursday.

“You have three young children in the vehicle as passengers … They were kids who didn’t have any agency, any control in terms of whether they were placed in that vehicle for the ride that night or not,” Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said.

Wyatt De Groot, who is in his 30s and from the Minnedosa area, was convicted of driving impaired at a trial in Brandon provincial court.

While delivering her sentence, Hewitt-Michta read out the circumstances of the offence.

In November 2023, witnesses came across De Groot and his three young children after an unexplained accident in which the vehicle ended up on its roof. No other vehicles were involved.

De Groot asked witnesses for a ride home, and when they said no, he called someone to pick him up, despite witnesses advising against it, Hewitt-Michta said.

“Investigation revealed there was open liquor in the vehicle,” she said, adding that when De Groot got home, he called police to tell them he was the driver and made a point of saying he was at home and drinking alcohol.

“He told officers that he had ‘slammed several beers.’ He had one in his hand and tried to drink from it in front of police,” Hewitt-Michta said.

She said he ultimately failed an alcohol screening device test with a result of 0.08 per cent, which is exactly the legal limit.

Crown attorney Reid Girard asked the court to impose a sentence of six months of custody followed by a two-year driving prohibition.

“It is common knowledge that every drunk driver is a potential killer, and the three potential victims were his children. The risk was there, and that certainly cannot be ignored,” Girard said.

“If you drink and drive, there will be consequences. If you drink and drive with children in the vehicle, those consequences will be that much more severe,” he said. “Impaired driving continues to plague our communities and roadways, and the need for that firm message certainly is not diminishing.”

Girard said despite the aggravating factors that he ended up in an accident and had children in the vehicle, the incident seemed out of character for him and referenced his dated, unrelated and short criminal record.

Additionally, he said De Groot is relatively youthful, assessed as a low risk to reoffend and seemed to have support in the community.

Defence lawyer Michael Dyck asked for a fine and a one-year driving prohibition.

He pointed out that the matter was only brought to trial because one of De Groot’s charter rights had been breached during the investigation, but ultimately Hewitt-Michta decided the evidence was still admissible.

Dyck said the amount of alcohol in his system was the lowest it could possibly be while still being an offence.

“The other thing that seems clear from the evidence as well is that there seems to be some post-driving consumption of alcohol,” he said.

While Dyck acknowledged that a driving prohibition is mandatory and a natural consequence, he said De Groot’s employment relies on him having a licence and he will lose his job.

He said De Groot is the “breadwinner” in the family and that his family will feel the consequences, adding that if the priority is keeping his children safe and cared for, putting De Groot in custody is not the answer.

In response to Girard’s comments about the potential harm he could have caused, Dyck said the court can’t sentence people for things that didn’t happen but instead for what did happen.

He said if the court decided to impose a custodial sentence, he would ask that De Groot is able to serve it by way of a conditional sentence, meaning he would be on house arrest with strict conditions.

Hewitt-Michta said a fine wouldn’t reflect the seriousness of the offence and a conditional sentence wouldn’t be consistent with the principles of deterrence and denunciation in this particular case.

“I have nothing but confidence that you’ll learn things over the next number of days, while you’re sitting in custody … and that you’re going to use that time to commit yourself to becoming stronger and better.”

» sanderson@brandonsun.com