Driver sentenced to 5 years in prison for fatal Vancouver hit-and-run
The man behind the wheel in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Vancouver’s Kitsilano area two years ago was handed his sentence Friday.
Alexandre Romero-Arata was given five years in prison minus two years and six months as credit for time served. He will also be banned from driving for eight years.
Romero-Arata pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death after the June 19, 2022, crash that killed 24-year-old Irish national Eoghan Byrne.
Surveillance video of the collision was played in court showing a sedan speeding toward Byrne and his friend Mike McGovern as they cross the street at West 4th Avenue near Arbutus Street.
Romero-Arata’s vehicle hits Byrne and does not stop.
Byrne’s grieving family travelled from Ireland to Vancouver to read victim impact statements at the driver’s sentencing hearing.
Speaking outside the courthouse minutes after the sentencing Friday, Byrne’s father Eugene said the family was “devastated, broken-hearted (and) drowning with grief.”
“This will be our third Christmas without Eoghan,” he told CTV News. “We have been given a life sentence; our lives have changed forever.”
Romero-Arata read an apology letter to the family during the hearing, but Eugene said it “fell on deaf ears” two and a half years after the tragic crash.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kraig Krause
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau's 2024: Did the PM become less popular this year?
Justin Trudeau’s numbers have been relatively steady this calendar year, but they've also been at their worst, according to tracking data from CTV News pollster Nik Nanos.
Manhunt underway after woman, 23, allegedly kidnapped, found alive in river
A woman in her 20s who was possibly abducted by her ex is in hospital after the car she was in plunged into the Richelieu River.
Calling all bloodhounds: These P.E.I. blood donors have four legs and a tail
Dogs are donating blood and saving the lives of canines at the University of Prince Edward Island's Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown.
Summer McIntosh makes guest appearance in 'The Nutcracker'
Summer McIntosh made a splash during her guest appearance in The National Ballet of Canada’s production of 'The Nutcracker.'
A 9-year-old is among 5 killed in the Christmas market attack in Germany
A nine-year-old was among five people killed when a Saudi doctor intentionally drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg, an official said Saturday.
Wild boar hybrid identified near Fort Macleod, Alta.
Acting on information, an investigation by the Municipal District of Willow Creek's Agricultural Services Board (ASB) found a small population of wild boar hybrids being farmed near Fort Macleod.
Toronto firefighters rescue man who fell into sinkhole in Yorkville
A man who fell into a sinkhole in Yorkville on a snowy Friday night in Toronto has been rescued after being stuck in the ground for roughly half an hour.
Winning $20-million Lotto Max ticket sold in Hamilton
Someone who purchased a Lotto Max ticket in Hamilton for Friday night’s draw is now $20-million richer.
Overheated immigration system needed 'discipline' infusion: minister
An 'overheated' immigration system that admitted record numbers of newcomers to the country has harmed Canada's decades-old consensus on the benefits of immigration, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said, as he reflected on the changes in his department in a year-end interview.