Jazmin Faye Patenaude walks into the courthouse in Nanaimo on Tuesday, March 17, to appear in connection with a fatal motor vehicle incident at Woodgrove Centre two years prior. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

downgraded charge

Nanaimo woman fined after fatal 2024 collision at Woodgrove Centre

Mar 23, 2026 | 1:17 PM

NANAIMO — Originally charged with dangerous driving causing death, a local woman will instead pay a fine stemming from a fatal motor vehicle incident in 2024.

Jazmin Faye Patenaude, 24, pleaded guilty in provincial court in Nanaimo on Wednesday, March 18, to a charge under the Motor Vehicle Act and was fined $1,000 for her role in a March 2024 crash which killed an 85-year-old woman.

The guilty plea, for driving without due care and attention, avoids a scheduled trial in Nanaimo on a Criminal Code charge.

Police said the incident occurred when the victim, Maureen Martin, parked next to Patenaude’s lifted pickup truck at Woodgrove Centre around 1:30 p.m. on March 21, 2024.

Investigators closed the section of the Walmart parking lot for several hours after the March 21, 2024 incident. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Nanaimo woman fined after fatal 2024 collision at Woodgrove Centre

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Martin got out of her vehicle and began walking towards the mall.

Patenaude then left her parking stall, hitting Martin in the process and knocking her to the ground, according to police at the time.

Patenaude stopped the vehicle immediately, remained at the scene, and cooperated with police.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue, B.C. Emergency Health Services and Nanaimo RCMP all attended the scene, but they were unable to revive the woman.

Drugs and alcohol were already ruled out as contributing factors on behalf of the driver.

Nanaimo RCMP said at the time modifications to the truck, including suspension lifts, oversized tires, and tinted windows, made driving in the crowded parking lot unsafe.

“These modifications, which were not part of the original design of the truck, contributed to the tragic outcome,” the Nanaimo RCMP release stated.

As part of the sentence, Patenaude will also pay a $150 victim surcharge fine.

Patenaude has a year to pay both fines.

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