Jason Charles Gourlay.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Facebook
April 17, 2018 - 1:00 PM
KAMLOOPS - The man who left the scene after killing a 16-year-old Kamloops girl with his Jeep addressed her family in court today.
Jason Charles Gourlay stepped out of the prisoner's box in Kamloops Supreme Court today, April 17, to face the family of Jennifer Gatey and apologize.
"To the Gatey family I am so sorry for the pain, and sadness, and loss I have caused you, and I am sorry for the painful months that have passed since you lost your daughter," Gourlay said.
He said he made a "very wrong decision" that night to not stop and see what happened after he realized he hit something with his Jeep the night of Nov. 4, 2016.
Gourlay added that the family needed closure and for someone to own up to own up to what happened.
"I bear a great remorse, and I will bear it forever," Gourlay said. "What I feel cannot be compared to what you all have been going through... My one deepest hope for you is that you can now begin the healing process."
This comes at the end of Gourlay's two-day sentencing hearing, where defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen asked for a time-served sentence for his client, and Crown prosecutor Neil Flanagan asked for a sentence of 11 to 14 months.
Supreme Court Justice Heather MacNaughton has reserved her decision, and the matter will go over to May 14 to fix a date for her decision on sentencing.
She must also decide if a prison assault on Gourlay when he was in custody will be considered a mitigating factor. Court heard Gourlay was assaulted in prison as a form of "vigilante justice" for his matters in court.
Gourlay was arrested last March in connection to the hit and run death of 16-year-old Gatey, who died on impact after Gourlay's Jeep collided with her. Court heard Gourlay was distracted by his mother's dog in his vehicle at the time of the collision, which led to him veering to the right of the road, and striking Gatey in the head as she was waiting for a bus on Pacific Way near her family's home.
The day after the incident, court heard, Gourlay took his vehicle through the car wash, and swapped a signal light from the front driver's side to the front passenger's side in order to evade arrest. This came after police alerted the public they were looking for a vehicle with possible damage to the front passenger's side.
Gourlay pleaded guilty to charges of leaving the scene of an accident and obstruction last week.
For more coverage on this case, go here.
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