Makenzee Lynn Doonan-Scott, 21, expressed remorse and grief during sentencing...
A 21-year-old woman was sentenced to two years in jail for impaired driving causing death in Fort St. John Court on Thursday.
A pickup truck driven by Makenzee Lynn Doonan-Scott rolled over in Hudson's Hope, B.C., on June 30, 2023. Her boyfriend, Ashton Attachie, died at the scene. Both were 18 years old at the time.
"The day I lost him was the day I lost my whole heart," wrote Doonan-Scott in a letter read aloud by her lawyer Wednesday during the two-day sentencing hearing.
"The world is not as bright and happy for me as it used to be. I spend most days crying and hating every bit of myself, wishing it was me ... my heart is broken for me, for him and his family."
Last month, she pleaded guilty to the charge of impaired driving causing death as well as impaired driving causing bodily harm, with an 18-month concurrent sentence for the second charge.
Four people were in the vehicle when Doonan-Scott failed to make a turn on Canyon Drive, sliding over an embankment. The court noted her blood alcohol concentration was higher than 100 milligrams per 100 millilitres.
A three-year driving ban will follow the jail sentences, once served.
The crash seriously injured another passenger.
In her letter, Doonan-Scott said she scooped blood out of Attachie's mouth and attempted CPR before paramedics arrived, holding his head and pieces of his skull.
"I still feel the feeling of him in my arms at the end before the paramedics took me away," she wrote.
The injured passenger has since recovered after suffering a cut liver, cracked pelvis, and torn knee ligaments that required reconstructive surgery.
More than 30 people attended the sentencing hearing, with friends and family there to support Doonan-Scott. Many offered hugs and shared tears after the proceeding.
Justice Kathleen Ker said the sense of grief in the courtroom was palpable while delivering the sentence.
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