An RCMP officer is seen looking at the houseboat which was hit by a speedboat on Shuswap Lake, July 3, 2010.
Image Credit: Contributed
June 02, 2016 - 3:15 PM
KAMLOOPS - The man convicted of crashing his speedboat into a houseboat, killing one man and injuring several others, on Shuswap Lake nearly six years ago has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Leon Reinbrecht appeared in a Kamloops Supreme Court room today, June 2, in front of friends and family of houseboat victim Ken Brown. Along with the three years behind bars, the sentence includes a five year ban on driving when Reinbrecht gets out of prison.
Brown's sister, Lorraine Tomalty, says the sentencing is the best of a bad situation.
"We hope he accepts this and moves on," Tomalty says. "We hope he doesn't appeal it."
While reading the reasons for her decision, Judge Sheri Donegan said one of the most important points to consider is the sentence is a deterrent, to drive away other people from making poor decisions.
"Mr. Reinbrecht was warned... not to go out on the water (that night)," Donegan said. "Mr. Reinbrecht made what can only be described as terrible decisions."
But Donegan did offer some sympathy for the man, pointing out how the crash affected every aspect of his life.
"Mr. Reinbrecht is a man of good character... (He) is remorseful. He tried to help Mr. Brown at the scene."
The crash happened July 3, 2010. Reinbrecht was convicted last October of two counts of criminal negligence, one causing bodily harm and the other causing death.
Last month, Donegan denied Reinbrecht’s appeal application and upheld Reinbrecht’s conviction.
— This story was updated at 4:09 p.m., Thursday, June 2, 2016 to add more information from the sentencing.
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