A London man has admitted he was drunk when he drove onto a sidewalk on the campus of Western University and hit a first-year student, taking her life.
Jared DeJong, 25, appeared at the London courthouse Wednesday, and entered a guilty plea on a charge of having over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood causing death.
The court heard that on the night of October 7, 2015, DeJong had twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system when he got behind the wheel of his car. He had spent the night drinking with friends at a campus bar. His vehicle jumped the curb on Lambton Dr. and hit 18-year-old Andrea Christidis, who was walking back to her residence after studying. She died from her injuries two days later.
Family and friends of Andrea wept as the statement of facts was read. Two became so emotional they had to leave the courtroom.
Speaking outside of the courthouse following the proceedings, Andrea's mother Georgia Christidis said she wouldn't wish this type of pain on any family.
"No parent should ever have to bury their child. There is no greater pain than this," she says. "I will never be able to put into words how this has affected us."
She also called on the justice system and society as a whole to do more to stop impaired driving.
"It is a society problem that is so serious. The devastation to our lives, so what could have prevented this? You could do more spot checks, the school could have had something there in place to spot an over-served person at the bar. Then there is the punishment part of it. This is where government, society changes have to be made."
DeJong's lawyer Jim Dean anticipates the sentence will be anywhere between two to eight years.
"The hope for the sentencing is hopefully a fair result," says Dean. "Fair to both the victim, respective of what's happened, fair to Mr. Dejong in regards to allowing for rehabilitation and some promise for the future."
DeJong spent much of the proceedings wiping tears from his eyes. Dean says his client's guilty plea shows he is taking responsibility for his actions.
"It's a horrible situation for everybody. He and his family are going through an extremely difficult time, I think that was clear with him today at the counsel table. He was very shaken up, it is difficult to sit there knowing how the family feels about it, knowing what's happened and what the outcome is. He is extremely remorseful and I think that's clear from his plea," says Dean.
A sentencing hearing will begin on April 28, although the judge has already indicated more time may be needed to make a sentencing decision.
Full statement from Georgia Christidis:
"Today we are at court to hear the accused plead guilty to impaired driving causing our daughter's death. Today we heard him admit that he was drunk and he killed our daughter, our beautiful daughter Andrea.
She did not deserve this fate. The last time we saw her alive she was at her most happiest, and we her parents at our most proudest, when we dropped her off at the school at Western in September to begin her academic studies. One month later, instead of celebrating her homecoming for the Thanksgiving weekend we were left with the tragic and unimaginable nightmare of planning her funeral.
No parent should ever have to bury their child. There is no greater pain than this. I will never be able to put into words how this has affected us. Me her mother, her father, her sister, her grandparents, our large and extended family, her many life long friends, her former teachers, her many new friends in her short time at Western, members of the community in Toronto and London , and many many other people she touched in her short life.
I don't know how we are going to cope with her loss for the rest of our lives or when we will ever stop asking why, why did this happen to our beautiful, intelligent, and kind daughter who had so much to live for, so much love to share, and so many dreams and aspirations to fulfill. We don't wish this pain and suffering on any other family and we plead with our justice system to put an end to drinking and driving and the destruction, devastation and despair that it leaves behind."
