The death of an 11-year-old Calgary girl has destroyed the lives of her parents and the Okotoks man who killed her while driving drunk, speeding and searching for a cell phone on the floor of his truck.
The death of an 11-year-old Calgary girl has destroyed the lives of her parents and the Okotoks man who killed her while driving drunk, speeding and searching for a cell phone on the floor of his truck.
Chief Justice Neil Wittmann will sentence Karl Mathew Schwarz, 32 of Okotoks, March 30 in Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary. Defence and crown lawyers entered sentencing submissions last week.
Schwarz pleaded guilty in July to driving with a blood alcohol level over .08 causing death.
Emotional victim impact statements were read by the parents of 11-year-old Tammy Truong March 17 in Calgary Court.
Truong was a passenger in her parents' minivan when it was struck as they turned left from Erin Woods Drive onto 52nd Street SE in Calgary in 2013. The girl died at the scene and her parents were taken by ambulance to hospital for broken bones.
“She died alone,” Trang Nguyen said through an interpreter.
She tearfully implored the judge to give their family justice.
“If he goes to jail for a couple of years, he can still see his beloved family and my family will never see my daughter again,” said Nguyen.
Tammy's father said he and his wife have been emotionally devastated by their daughter's death.
“I had a lot of headaches and feeling depressed and sometimes suicidal,” Son-Minh Truong said.
On Sept. 20, 2013 Schwarz went out to drink with co-workers to celebrate passing probation at a new job at the Peter Lougheed Centre. He left the pub and was going to buy his son a birthday present. On the way he got into an argument with his father on the phone and threw the phone onto the floor on the passenger side.
He then reached to retrieve the phone, ran a red light on 52nd Street and hit the Truong's minivan on the side where Tammy was sitting. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.
Crown prosecutor Meagan Blake asked for a three-year prison sentence. She said she would have asked for a stiffer penalty, but had issues proving the case. Blake said the lead investigator on the case faced disciplinary action over a dishonest action that was not related to this case that has tainted his credibility. There were also issues over how one of the blood samples was obtained at the hospital, she said.
Blake said the guilty plea is also a mitigating factor and said she believes Schwarz is extremely remorseful.
Schwarz told the court he wishes he could trade places with the girl and his own daughter is a constant reminder of the life he took.
“I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
Defence lawyer Danusia Bourdon asked for her client to receive two years in prison.
She said Schwarz is a good person who made terrible mistakes. Schwarz received a medal of valour from the RCMP for running down an armed bank robber in B.C. in 2008, she said.
Even when the robber tried to shoot him, Schwarz and a friend continued holding the suspect down until officers arrived.
He also rarely drinks, Bourdon said.
“This is an inexperienced drinker who goes out to drink with his boss and colleagues and he drinks too much and thinks he is okay,” she said.
In a letter to the court, Schwarz' wife described him as an amazing son, husband and father.
He has post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and can't sleep since the crash, Bourdon said.
Schwarz tried to hang himself once, but his wife found him and got him down.
“He has been suicidal since the day of the accident and I believe he is still suicidal to this date,” Bourdon said.
His wife stopped working to make sure he was not left at home due to his ongoing suicidal thoughts. He also has lost 40 pounds due to the stress.
