A central Newfoundland man has been convicted of killing two people and seriously injuring two others while driving drunk near Gander more than five years ago.
Nicholas Villeneuve pleaded guilty to four charges in Gander provincial court this morning, with four others withdrawn in a plea deal with the Crown, which is seeking a sentence of 5.5 to 6 years in prison.
The horrific facts of the case were once again read aloud in Gander provincial court this morning, following a first trial that ended in acquittals.
Villeneuve was doing more than 120 kms/hr, in pouring rain, just west of Gander, when his pickup slammed head-on into an SUV coming the other way.
It happened around 4 a.m. on July 7th, 2019, and left John and Sandra Lush dead, and their daughter and her boyfriend with serious injuries.
Villeneuve had spent the previous hours drinking at a local music festival before getting behind the wheel and destroying two vehicles, and the lives of everyone else involved.
(Josh Whiteway and his mother, Michelle Blake, are shown in this province’s Court of Appeal in 2022.)
No less than nine victim impact statements have been filed with the court to demonstrate the deep sense of shock, loss and continued grief felt by the surviving victims, Josh Whiteway and Suzanne Lush, as well as their family and friends as a result of Villeneuve’s actions.
He was originally charged with eight counts including two counts each of impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm, as well as dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm. The dangerous driving charges were withdrawn as part of the plea deal.
Villeneuve was first acquitted of all charges after a judge ruled his Charter rights were violated. But that was successfully appealed by the Crown and upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada, with a new trial ordered and all evidence put back on the table.
The sentencing phase is continuing in Gander provincial court today, as one by one the victim impact statements were read into the record.
Judge Jacqueline Jenkins will consider those, as well as all mitigating and aggravating factors, in coming up with a sentence.
