Whitehorse taxi driver who hit pedestrian, leaving her with permanent brain damage, sentenced to house arrest

A Whitehorse taxi driver who hit a pedestrian with his vehicle last year and left her with "catastrophic" brain damage has been given a two-month-long conditional sentence and six months of probation. 

Territorial Court Chief Judge John Phelps sentenced Abdella Jemallo on one count of driving at an unreasonable speed — a violation of the Yukon's Motor Vehicles Act — on Wednesday. 

Jemallo, 52, pleaded guilty last week. According to an agreed statement of facts, he was driving on Second Avenue the morning of Feb. 13, 2024, when he hit Virginie Bourque as she crossed the street in front of the Yukon Centre Mall, at a section with no crosswalk. 

Jemallo, who had a passenger in his taxi despite his vehicle-for-hire permit expiring the week before, was driving at between 67 km/h to 71 km/h when he hit Bourque. The impact threw her at least 35 metres, the statement says, and she suffered injuries including a fractured pelvis and spine as well as "a severe traumatic brain injury that caused permanent neurological damage." 

Jemallo's taxi rear-ended two vehicles at the traffic light at Ogilivie Street, coming to a stop 61 metres away from the crash site. 

The statement says an accident reconstructionist found that if Jemallo had been driving the 40 km/h speed limit, he would have been 86 metres away from the point of impact while Bourque was crossing. It also says Bourque crossed the street on an "angled" route, and had she crossed in a "perpendicular manner," she would have made it to the other side.

Bourque was medevaced to Vancouver and was in a coma for four months. In an emotional victim impact statement, her partner, Jessica Busque, told the court that doctors said she'd suffered "catastrophic" brain damage. 

While Bourque has regained consciousness, Busque said she can no longer speak, eat, or move on her own, and the ambitious, brilliant and beautiful 33-year-old who was a supportive, grounding presence for her friends and family will have to live in a care facility for the rest of her life. 

"It hurts to see her trapped in a body that doesn't work anymore," Busque said through tears. "It hurts to see her suffer, it hurts to see that her young adult years were taken away from her… It's been nothing but heartbreaking."

Territorial Crown Amy Porteous recommended that the court give Jemallo a three-week sentence, with the option of serving it in the community, and 30 hours of community service. 

Defence lawyer Jennifer Budgell, meanwhile, requested that Jemallo get a $500 fine — the maximum allowed under the Motor Vehicles Act — and 60 days of probation.

Phelps, when giving his sentencing decision, noted the penalties he could impose were limited by the legislation. 

He noted a number of mitigating factors, including Jemallo's age, his clean criminal record, his guilty plea, and the fact that he only had one driving offence prior to the crash — failure to wear a seatbelt — and none since. He also acknowledged Jemallo was responsible for driving his three children to and from school and extracurriculars. 

However, Phelps also pointed out several aggravating factors, including that Jemallo was a professional driver with the added responsibility of ensuring the safety of his passengers, which should have translated to safer driving overall. As well, Jemallo was driving well above the speed limit and accelerated up until the collision, travelling 214 metres down Second Avenue before hitting Bourque.