A memorial site stood for months a few feet from where Eric Shim was hit and eventually killed after a man driving an SUV failed to stop at a marked intersection. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

Tragic incident

Careless driver avoids jail for hitting and killing teen at north Nanaimo crosswalk

Nov 24, 2020 | 12:41 PM

NANAIMO — An inattentive driver just beneath the threshold of impairment won’t go to jail for hitting and killing a teenager at a marked crosswalk.

Brandon Geoffrey Murdoch, 35, was instead handed a $2,000 fine, two year driving ban and $300 victim surcharge in connection with the March 6, 2019 incident on Hammond Bay Rd. at Ventura Pl.

Eric Shim, a 17-year-old Dover Bay Secondary student, was seriously wounded and pronounced dead several days later in hospital in Victoria.

“There was no attempt to slow down, brake or take any avoidance maneuvers when approaching a pedestrian in a marked intersection,” Crown prosecutor Brett Webber told provincial court judge Ronald Webb on Monday, Nov. 23.

Webber suggested a jail term of up to six months for Murdoch was appropriate for the charge of driving without due care and attention. The Motor Vehicle Act infraction can lead to jail time.

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Murdoch had pleaded guilty in September, 2020 after completing the latest in a series of treatment programs.

Though Murdoch wasn’t speeding, he had been drinking. He fell just beneath the cusp of alcohol impairment. There was also a cocktail of prescription drugs in his system at the time, which he’d built up an immunity for.

“Mr. Murdoch’s inability to cope with the past has taken away the future of Eric and his family,” Webber said.

Defence attorney Bert King told court the his client’s troubled past of addictions issues and PTSD stemmed from a tour of duty in the armed forces in Afghanistan.

An opinion from a psychiatrist submitted in the case said going to prison would have severe negative effects on Murdoch’s rehabilitation efforts.

Judge Webb sided with King and omitted jail time for Murdoch.

King said Murdoch currently resides in a Nanaimo halfway house and has been under psychiatric care for about a decade.

King said Murdoch’s plan is to remain alcohol free and continue receiving therapy for his mental health issues.

He had three prior dated speeding tickets and has no criminal record.

A victim impact statement from Shim’s mother outlined the devastating effects the loss of her son had on her family.

Shim’s death led to an online petition advocating for a light-signaled crosswalk on Hammond Bay at Ventura Dr. and more safety signage.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes