On the evening of July 13, 2018, Harrison Heth-Klems used his friend’s Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle without his friend’s consent to take his girlfriend, 19-year-old Megan Kinnee, out for dinner.
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A motorcyclist whose dangerous driving caused the death of his teenage girlfriend has been sentenced to a year in jail.
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On the evening of July 13, 2018, Harrison Heth-Klems used his friend’s Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle without his friend’s consent to take his girlfriend, 19-year-old Megan Kinnee, out for dinner.
After dinner, with Kinnee as his passenger, Heth-Klems headed east along Highway 1 before exiting the highway and driving along South Parallel Road near Abbotsford.
Traveling at speeds of up to 120 kph in an 80 kph zone, he collided with the rear end of a Lincoln Navigator that had been moving slowly.
Prior to the collision, he had taken his eyes off the road and gazed over at an accident on the adjacent Highway 1.
Heth-Klems, who was 22 years old at the time of the offense and is now 26, was under a driving prohibition due to several infractions.
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“His choice to drive, contrary to that prohibition and in the manner he did, resulted in Ms. Kinnee’s death and has visited an enormous and unspeakably sad loss on her family,” BC Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Duncan said as she imposed sentence Wednesday in Abbotsford.
Kinnee died at the scene of her injuries. Heth-Klems suffered serious injuries, including a head injury, a fracture to his pelvis and back, nerve damage, partial leg paralysis, a collapsed lung, and three broken ribs.
A father of a six-year-old boy, Heth-Klems will be unable to have any more children due to his injuries.
Court heard that the mitigating factors included his young age, his lack of a prior criminal record, his positive lifestyle and the support of friends and family.
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The aggravating factors included Heth-Klem’s driving prohibition, the fact that he was not licensed to drive a motorcycle at the time, his driving speed and inattention.
Sentencing in such a case, where a young life is senselessly and needlessly lost, is a difficult exercise, said the judge.
Citing another legal case, the judge noted that those who have suffered such a loss could understandably claim that anything less than the maximum sentence is inadequate.
“However, I say with great respect that such a view does not accord with the proper concept of the criminal sentencing process.”
The judge added that a pronouncement of the court’s sentence does not really make anything better.
“The loss is as great as ever. The sentence will provide no balm to ease the pain and hurt that many are suffering.”
The Crown sought an 18-month jail term while the defense called for a conditional sentence to be served in the community.
The judge concluded in all of the circumstances that a fit and appropriate sentence was 12 months in jail and a three-year driving ban.
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