SASKATOON – Supporters of Darnell Fineday – who is paralyzed after being hit by an impaired driver – arrived at Saskatoon courthouse carrying his photographs, hoping for justice, only to leave feeling a profound sense of injustice.
Jillian Walker, 23, was sentenced Wednesday to two years less a day after pleading guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm. Her sentence will be served in the community. Her driver’s license was also suspended for one year and she was ordered to pay a $200 victim surcharge. For the first 12 months of her CSO, she has a 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.
“I’m upset,” Darnell’s mother Charlene Fineday said outside the courthouse after the verdict. “I don’t think justice was served for me and my son today. I wanted a stronger sentence and I wanted her license to be taken away for more than a year."
Video: Charlene Fineday reacts to verdict
Likewise, Junell Bird, from Mosquito First Nation, was also disappointed with the verdict. She drove from North Battleford to support her childhood friend Charlene Fineday.
“I thought 10 years would have been fair,” she said.
“It’s really hurting to see someone you knew as a sweet little boy to now somebody that has to continue life in a wheelchair.”
Video: Junell Bird from Mosquito First Nation speaks out against the verdict
Defence Sean Fagan and Crown Prosecutor Paul Goldstein entered a joint sentencing submission to the court, which Judge Lisa Watson accepted.
The gallery was packed and a second courtroom was opened up for the overflow of people who watched the proceedings by video. Many family and friends of Fineday drove to Saskatoon from Mosquito First Nation, Sweetgrass First Nation, and North Battleford.
Court heard that Walker got behind the wheel of her Kia SUV after having two drinks, when she struck Fineday at a crosswalk on 22 Street and Hart Road in Saskatoon just before 2 a.m. on April 19, 2023. She was going about 60 to 70 km/hr at the time. The speed limit was 60 km/hr.
Fineday was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He is now paralyzed, unable to speak, and lives in a long-term care home that provides 24-hour care.
Defence told the court that Walker is “so sincerely sorry for the harm” she has caused Darnell and his family.
“This will haunt her for the rest of her life.”
He said that Walker had a chaotic upbringing in Prince Albert and Halifax. Her parents split up and her step-father was abusive. She used alcohol since she was about 13 to cope.
Standing up and looking directly at Charlene Fineday and her son Darnell, Walker apologized to them.
“I never imagined I could be the cause of so much pain and heartache,” she said. “I would trade places with Darnell in a heartbeat.”
Judge Watson said what happened to Darnell Fineday is a stark reminder that there is no safe level of alcohol to consume before driving.
“This circumstance is tragic for everyone,” she said.
As Judge Watson was saying that she would accept the joint submission by defence and the Crown, several of Darnell’s family members and friends got up from their seats and walked out of the courtroom before the proceedings ended. Others were shaking their heads.
“I now grieve for the son that I lost that day that Jillian Walker chose to drink and drive,” Fineday said in her victim impact statement. “I mourn the loss of many dreams, hopes, wishes, and milestones that my son was meant to have.
“I’ll never be able to hear him talk, see him walk. I will never be able to see him laugh, smile, and joke. I will never be able to get a meaningful hug from him. I will never see him love another, get married, settle down in a home and have more children. I will never see him play with his only daughter again. He won’t be able to walk her down the aisle, kiss away her tears, hug her on her important days, and he won’t be able to be the father to her the way he wanted to be.”
Fundraiser for Charlene Fineday
Charlene Fineday has worked full-time for the past two decades and recently had to quit her job for a security guard company in Saskatoon due to the stress of dealing with her son's medical condition. She spends a lot of time at the long-term care home where he resides, helping take care of his needs and being with him. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Saskatoon and is unable to bring him there as it's not set-up for his extensive medical needs.
Charlene doesn't have an income since quitting her job and is now at risk of losing her apartment and becoming homeless. Her long-time friend Junell Bird has started a Gofundme fundraiser for Charlene.
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