DRIVER IN DEADLY CRASH NOT GUILTY OF DRIVING WHILE INFLUENCED BY POT

Mothers Of Dead Boys Had Hoped For A Precedent

A young Langley man was convicted yesterday of dangerous driving
causing the deaths of two 16-year-old passengers, but was acquitted of
driving under the influence of marijuana.

The verdict, delivered in Surrey Provincial Court, was a
disappointment for the victims' families, who said the law needs to be
changed to make it easier to convict drivers impaired by pot.

"We were hoping that this would be a precedent-setting case and that
the laws would be changed," said Helen Featherston, who lost her son
Simon in the crash two years ago. "We don't want our sons to have died
in vain and we were hoping this would create a new way to proceed."

Friends Simon Featherston and Dayton Unger were passengers in a Ford
Mustang when they died in a high-speed crash on 264th Street in
Langley on April 4, 2002. A third passenger was injured.

The convicted 18-year-old driver, who cannot be named because he was a
youth at the time he was charged, was driving 100 to 140 km/h when he
lost control and struck a boulder.

Blood samples taken from the driver two hours after the crash showed
he had a high level of THC, the active ingredient in pot.

But Provincial Court Judge William MacDonald was not convinced beyond
a reasonable doubt that the accused was impaired by marijuana due to
conflicting expert testimony. "Unlike the cases involving impairment
by alcohol, there is nothing in the Criminal Code making it an offence
to drive a motor vehicle while having a certain level of THC in the
blood," MacDonald wrote in his decision.

Crown counsel Winston Sayson said a conviction could have been
precedent setting, but he respects the decision of the court.

The accused had a THC reading of 144 micrograms per litre, which
expert Wayne Jeffrey testified would have corresponded with an
increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and red and dilated
eyes -- symptoms that were not observed by the doctor who examined the
driver shortly after the crash.

Jeffrey and another toxicology expert also had difficulty explaining
the high level of THC found because the marijuana smoke that goes into
the lungs causes the THC level to rise and dissipate quickly.

At a reading of 144, experts say the accused would have had to have
smoked pot after the crash and before his blood was drawn at Langley
Memorial Hospital -- a scenario the judge found "virtually impossible"
because the accused was surrounded by police or medical professionals
during that time.

"I just want the boy to take responsibility," said Featherston. "I
mean, how can anybody move forward until you stand up and take
responsibility? We're not going to be mad or accusing him. This is a
done thing, it's over. Now we have to get on with healing."

While the Unger family say they have received an apology from the
driver, the Featherstons say they have not.

The families said they would like to see the young man sentenced to
many hours of community service and have his driver's licence revoked.

"There's a huge hole that can never be filled," said Diane Unger, the
mother of Dayton. "

Sentencing is set for Nov. 29.