Emotions run high during sentencing hearing for man who killed 2 in drunk driving collision

The devastation of drinking and driving shook those inside Gander's provincial courthouse Tuesday, as lawyers argued how much time Nicholas Villeneuve should spend behind bars.

The Gander man has pleaded guilty to four charges related to the 2019 impaired driving crash that led to the death of a married Lewisporte couple and serious injuries to two others.

In the early morning hours of July 9, 2019, Villeneuve, then 20, was driving home from a music festival when his pickup truck collided with an SUV carrying John and Sandra Lush, who died at the scene.

Their daughter Suzanne Lush and her then-boyfriend, Josh Whiteway — passengers in the SUV — suffered serious injuries. Whiteway was left partially paralyzed.

"It's impacted my life in every way possible," Whiteway told a tearful Gander courtroom today in Gander.

He spent 16 days in a coma following the head-on collision with Villeneuve's pickup, and more than 150 days in hospital. He told the courtroom of his extensive injuries as a result of that accident, describing the chronic pain he continues to battle and how it led to depression, the loss of identity and feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy.

He said he still smells the burning plastic, rubber and flesh from that night.

"My entire life fell in flames that night … In many ways, I am not the same person that lied on that wet July ground," he told the court.

"[But] I made a decision to not let the [trauma] define who I am."

Suzanne Lush also experienced serious injury that night, which was detailed in her victim impact statement that was read by a victim services representative. The staffer who read it was visibly shaken when recounting how the night of the collision took over Lush's life.

"My life was shattered in more ways than I can ever count," wrote Lush.

She spoke of how close she and her parents were, how they were the most important people in her life and how much she relied on them for guidance.

"My safety net has been stolen from me," she wrote. "The isolation and sense of abandonment is crushing."

Her statement detailed how she's now left with physical and emotional scars, how she's struggled since that day and how her "spirit is gone" and "body broken."

The court heard nine victim impact statements in total, all from immediate family members of Lush and Whiteway. Emotions swept over the 30 or so friends and family in attendance.

Each of the statements called for a stiff sentence for Villeneuve, with the hopes it will deter others from committing the same crime.

The matter has been making its way through the courts for more than five years. Following the crash, in an early court appearance, defence attorney Rosellen Sullivan filed an application arguing the police violated Villeneuve's rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. At the time, Judge Mark Linehan agreed, thus ruling some of the statements as inadmissible. Villeneuve walked away a free man in February 2021.

The matter was then appealed, and Court of Appeal judges agreed the trial judge made errors. A retrial was ordered, but this past summer, Villeneuve entered his first guilty plea instead.

During submissions Tuesday, Crown attorney Amanda Hiscock asked for a sentence of 5 ½ to six years in prison and a seven-year driving prohibition. 

Both the Crown and defence submissions spoke of how Villeneuve had a history of cocaine use and a collection of speeding tickets, but also how he had no criminal record, and has reported no drug use since the incident.

"He did a horrible thing and there's no excuse or justification," Sullivan, his lawyer, said.

She's asking for a five-year incarceration and maximum of a five-year driving prohibition. Sullivan said Villeneuve has a low risk of reoffending and is an excellent candidate for rehabilitation.

Following the crash, Villeneuve moved to northern Ontario to work in aircraft maintenance, got married and welcomed his first child.

In his statement to the court — read by his attorney — Villeneuve said there's not a day that goes by he doesn't think of the devastation he caused, and the sorrow he feels for the families involved.

He said he's taken steps in his life to ensure it would never happen again, and said when his son is old enough to understand, Villeneuve would tell him of his actions, which would further add to the shame he feels.

"If I could change all this, I certainly would," he wrote.

Villeneuve is remanded in custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Gander provincial court on Dec. 10.

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