A sentencing date has been set in the fall for an Olds man who pleaded guilty to being responsible in the highway crash death of a nationally recognized Ontario teacher known affectionately as the “Grammar Granny.”
On Aug. 20, a Thursday, Nov. 8 sentencing date was set in Didsbury provincial court for 20-year-old Dilan Cole Kolb, a resident of Olds, who admitted responsibility in the Oct. 6, 2011 death of 62-year-old Georgia Lyons, of North Bay, Ont.
Kolb man pleaded guilty March 21 to failing to proceed safely after stopping at an intersection, a charge under the Provincial Offences Procedures Act Rules of Road. The maximum sentence under the provincial legislation is a $2,000 fine and/or six months in jail. The Crown and defence's joint submission was for a $2,000 fine only.
However, Judge Patrick McIIhargey told lawyers at the time he wanted more information on the plea bargain, and following a subsequent hearing earlier in August he denied the joint submission. He noted Kolb had two prior speeding tickets and one conviction of operating a vehicle with more than .08 alcohol in his system.
Kolb told McIlhargey in a prepared written statement earlier this month he continues to have “nightmares” about the two-vehicle crash on the QEII.
McIIhargey heard Kolb was the driver of a 2005 Ford pickup that was eastbound on the Amerada Road when he attempted to cross four lanes of the QEII.
Court was told Kolb made it across two southbound lanes but when he attempted to cross the northbound lanes, a northbound 2010 Nissan Sentra car travelling at 111 km/h crashed into the side of his vehicle.
Lyons, a passenger in the front seat of the Nissan, died in the collision. She was in Alberta at the time visiting family in Calgary. The driver of the vehicle, Lyons' daughter Rachel Irwin, suffered serious injuries, including a punctured lung, fractured ribs, a concussion and a shattered left leg. Lyons' granddaughter, Isabella Tourville, who was seated in the back, was not injured. Court was told Kolb suffered no “significant” injuries.
