SOOKE, B.C. — A British Columbia provincial court judge has handed a six-year prison term to a man who "simply refuses to obey the law," and was impaired while behind the wheel in a crash that killed his seven-year-old son.
Judge Ted Gouge imposed the maximum sentence the Crown had asked for, saying 49-year-old Matthew Darlington poses a "serious threat to public safety" if he isn't held in custody.
RCMP say Darlington was driving along Sooke Road on southern Vancouver Island at around 2 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2021, when he crashed into a concrete curb before running into a tree.
The court ruling issued this week said the man's wife and his three children, aged seven, eight and 10, were in the vehicle and the youngest died hours later in hospital.
Darlington pleaded guilty last month to operating a vehicle with methamphetamine in his blood, causing death.
He has no memory of the crash, and appears to have been unconscious at the time, the ruling said.
The judge noted Darlington had been convicted of driving while prohibited nine times, including once in 2022, just months after the crash that killed his son.
"His lengthy and serious driving history demonstrates that, when driving, he puts others at constant risk. As a consequence, the only way in which I can protect the public from him is to order his incarceration," the judge said in the ruling.
Darlington and his wife have now divorced, but he told the court he wanted to nurture the relationships he has with his surviving children.
"With that acknowledged, I am not satisfied that he provides a good role model," Gouge said. "Shortly put, he has been, over a period of many years, a man who simply refuses to obey the law."
The Crown had asked for a 15-year driving prohibition on top of a five- to six-year prison term, while Darlington's lawyer proposed a conditional sentence of under two years, allowing him to serve his time in the community.
Gouge said he felt an eight-year sentence would be more appropriate, but thought it unwise to impose a longer sentence than the Crown had recommended.
However, the judge said the suggestion of a 15-year driving ban was "manifestly insufficient."
"Mr. Darlington should never again drive a motor vehicle," Gouge said.
He imposed a 35-year driving prohibition along with the six-year sentence and ordered Darlington to provide a DNA sample.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press
