Image by Amrita Bharati from Pixabay

LIVID: Learning, Insight, and Voices on Impaired Driving contains discussions of impaired driving, traumatic injury, death, grief, and the justice system. Listener discretion is advised.

The content of this podcast reflects personal experiences and opinions and is provided for educational and awareness purposes only. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional advice.

Any references to legal matters are based on publicly available information or lived experience and are not intended to influence or comment on the outcome of ongoing legal proceedings.

967 days. That’s how long I waited to hear a sentence for the man who killed my daughter. Four and a half years and a seven year driving ban. That’s what her life was worth in a Canadian courtroom. I watched him get handcuffed. I watched him walk away. And everyone asked me the same question… ‘Do you feel better now?’ I didn’t. So what is justice… when the person you love doesn’t come back?

When Abbey died one of the things people often said to me was “I can’t imagine what you are going through”. That’s fair. Losing your child to an impaired driver is horrendous and no one wants to imagine it. In giving my victim impact statement to the court, I needed to articulate exactly this, the impact of my daughter being killed. Get some tissues, this is not pretty.

In British Columbia, and throughout Canada, victims of crime have a right to be heard in court through Victim Impact Statements, but do they matter? Do they influence sentencing? Or are they just a way to placate victims? Why bother? On February 25, 2026 I gave my victim impact statement in court. Did it matter? In this episode, we’ll talk about what I learned.

Go 136km/hr in a 50 zone. Blow through 2 red lights. Cause 1st collision. Reverse, go around the wreckage, run 3 more red lights, nearly miss another car, run the next red and hit your second victims. Stop dead. Blood Alcohol 3 times the legal limit. You are now a killer. Abbey’s dead, I’m terrified, you should be too. Impaired driving MUST stop.