$1.8K fine and 15-month driving ban for man who caused fatal crash in Kamloops, B.C.

The driver who caused a multi-vehicle crash that led to the death of a Thompson Rivers University (TRU) volleyball player in Kamloops, B.C., has been sentenced.

Colval Shaquille Abbinett, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention. He was behind the wheel of a Dodge Ram that hit a Volkswagen Jetta near the TRU campus on Nov. 29, 2023.

TRU volleyball player Owyn McInnis, 22, was killed, and two of his teammates were seriously injured.

Seven other people were hurt in the ensuing pileup.

Abbinett received an $1,800 fine and a 15-month driving ban, short of the maximum penalty of $2,000 and a two-year ban.

The charge, which falls under B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act, can also result in up to six months of jail time. However, Crown and defence agreed that jail time would not be an appropriate punishment given Abbinett did not intend to cause the loss of life or injury.

At Wednesday's hearing, the circumstances leading up to the crash were shared in front of Abbinett as well as friends and family of McInnis, some of whom had flown in from other parts of the country for the sentencing.

It was heard that Abbinett may have fallen asleep or passed out while driving, and witnesses had testified the truck was driving at erratic speeds, with one witness saying he saw Abbinett slumped over the wheel just before the crash.

Fourteen victim impact statements were shared in the courtroom, including from McInnis's fiancée, who described the loss of the future the couple had planned together.

One of the teammates injured in the crash said he spent close to five months in a coma, and his family was warned he would likely not recover. He said he is still suffering from a brain injury and is unable to live fully independently.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, regional Crown counsel Jessica Patterson said the case had been "challenging," and explained why the prosecution did not seek a harsher sentence, which some of the victims' family and friends have called for.

"Criminal law in Canada doesn't criminalize people for involuntary behaviour," she said.

With the witness testimony indicating Abbinett was not conscious at the time of the crash, she said, pursuing charges tied to a deliberate act likely would not have been successful.

"We have to be satisfied that there's a substantial likelihood of conviction," when deciding which charges to pursue, she said, based on their ability to prove the charges "beyond a reasonable doubt."