A 36-year-old Sudbury man was sentenced to six months in jail on April 11 in connection to impaired driving charges stemming from a July 28, 2016 incident.
Chad Patry was sentenced to a pair of concurrent six-month sentences on the charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm. The collision was captured by a security camera in front of the Northern Life/Sudbury.com office and resulted in long-term injuries for a pair of victims.
One of the victims, Randi Pomerleau, was sitting in her parked vehicle when Patry, impaired at the wheel of a vehicle he had borrowed, rear-ended Pomerleau's car.
Both Pomerleau and Kim Disale were hospitalized as a result of the collision and Pomerleau appeared in court during Patry's sentencing on April 11 to read a statement.
"I have had ongoing pain since the accident that has greatly impacted my life," said Pomerleau, fighting through tears. "My life has become completely centered on my recovery and not on my family. I can no longer help my daughter get ready for school because of my limited range of motion, we had to cancel a family camping trip. My daughter now has to be in before and after-school programs so that my husband can maintain his normal work schedule."
Disale was not in court on April 11, but was in the vehicle with Patry the day of the accident. The two had met that same day and had been drinking. Through a statement read by Crown Attorney Andrew Slater, Disale explained that she and Patry were on their way to go for a swim.
"He was driving erratically and I was asking him to slow down," said Slater, reading Disale's statement. "I was rescued from the vehicle by two friends who were at the (Laughing) Buddha. I had a fractured sternum and and injured disc in my back. I now have PTSD and am frightened to get into a car and I no longer drive."
On the day of the accident, Patry's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, with breathalyzer readings of 0.188 and 0.175 at the time of his arrest. This was the second time that Patry was charged for driving while impaired, going back to December 2003 when he was charged with the same offence.
Defense attorney Denis Michel told the court that Patry has been working to get his life back on track and that he has completed four weeks of a 12-week after-care program.
"Yes, he (Patry) has had some run-ins with the law, but his family, his co-workers and support group have all indicated that they've seen a change in him and that he is committed to his sobriety," said Michel, who argued against jail as a suitable punishment for Patry.
"He was in custody from July 28 to Oct. 17, that's 81 real days and 122 days on enhanced credit. What benefit is jail going to have? He has been working towards his recovery, if we send him to jail, he will be exposed to daily drug use and people with the same mindset as he had prior to the incident. Do we go backwards or do we continue the road to rehab?"
Patry addressed the court and the victims through tear-filled eyes, expressing that he had been humbled and embarrassed by his behaviour.
"I sincerely apologize to the victims who were involved, I know it's not enough and I'm ready to face the consequences of my actions," said Patry.
"I can't stop thinking about the pain I have caused and I'll live with that for the rest of my life. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm not a bad person, but I made a bad decision."
That decision is one that Slater says is happening far too often in Sudbury and that an example needs to be made of people who choose to drink and drive.
"We have to be mindful of the offense, one that we have seen constantly increasing in this community," said Slater.
"There's an ever-increasing number of tragic events in our community that are linked to impaired drivers. (Patry) was charged in 2003 and you would have hoped that would have triggered him to change his behaviour but it appears that he hasn't learned from past events."
Patry will serve concurrent six-month sentences in jail, and upon his release, will serve two years probation with stipulations that he attend rehabilitation programs for alcohol abuse. He is also not permitted to communicate or to interact with Kim Disale.
Patry will also be mandated to provide DNA samples at the order of his probation officer. On top of his jail sentence and probation, Patry was also handed a three-year driving prohibition by Justice K. Lische.
"Clearly your actions have had an impact on you and you are now trying to dedicate your life to your family and to your work," said Lische. "There are two victims who could only aspire to have that option. You've caused lesser quality in a mother-child relationship, your actions have had a huge ripple effect. These are the effects of your actions, and this illustrates why drinking and driving is such a huge problem in our society."
The sentence handed out by Lische was on account of her recognition that Patry was taking steps towards his own rehabilitation. The Crown had originally been seeking a jail sentence that would be capped at 15 months.
