Saskatoon teen sentenced to probation for joyriding crash that killed 16-year-old friend

Dan Zakreski · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 10:51 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A Saskatoon teen who pleaded blameworthy to crashing his dad's car and sidesplitting his 16-year-old person portion joyriding is not going to jail.

Rather, the teen, who is present 16, volition beryllium connected probation for 2 years and past not beryllium allowed to thrust for different 4 years. Provincial tribunal Judge Brad Mitchell accepted the associated sentencing submission from authoritative Michael Pilon and defence lawyer Ron Piche successful tribunal Tuesday.

The teen pleaded blameworthy to unsafe driving causing decease and unsafe driving causing bodily harm. He cannot beryllium named due to the fact that of his age.

• 15-year-old operator charged successful April collision that killed 16-year-old rider successful Saskatoon

Pilon detailed the series of events that began conscionable aft midnight connected April 14, 2024.

The 15-year-old took his dad's 2008 Honda Civic without support to spell joyriding with friends. The teen had neither a learners oregon drivers licence astatine the time. His dada was moving a nighttime displacement and not astatine home.

The teen and a radical of friends spent the adjacent 5 hours "cruising around Saskatoon," Pilon said, until astir 5 a.m. CST erstwhile helium began dropping disconnected his friends "and racing to bushed his dada home." None of the teens were drinking oregon doing drugs, helium said.

The teen and 2 passengers were successful the car connected Taylor Street East erstwhile helium mislaid power travelling astatine doubly the posted velocity limit, spinning retired and broadsiding a shear-proof powerfulness pole, which past caused the car to flip onto its roof. The operator and front-seat rider were wearing spot belts, but the teen successful the backmost spot was not and helium was thrown from the car.

"The unfortunate died connected impact," Pilon said.

Police astatine the country described the 15-year-old arsenic "remorseful and co-operative," astatine 1 constituent volunteering to officers, "I killed him."

None of the victim's household were successful tribunal Tuesday for the sentencing "because it was excessively traumatic for them to attend," Pilon said.

The 16-year-old was the youngest successful the family and the lone son. Friends said his begetter is inactive devastated, and helium is present simply "waiting to meet his son," Pilon said.

Piche spoke for the young driver, describing its "profound interaction connected him."

"He is inactive feeling remorse, and helium has empathy for the family."

The teen and his begetter were the only family members successful the tribunal gallery.

In summation to the probation and driving prohibition, the teen indispensable obey a one-year curfew, bash 240 hours of assemblage work and hole a written apology to the victim's family.