DOPED DRIVER GUILTY IN DOUBLE FATALITY

Sherwood Park News -- The Edmonton man charged in the deaths of two
Strathcona residents in a crash over two years ago has been convicted.

James McIlwrick, 33, was found guilty in Sherwood Park provincial
court on April 12 of two counts of impaired driving causing death and
two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

Judge Leo Burgess handed down his ruling last week based on a trial
held earlier.

On Nov. 23, 2003, McIlwrick's Dodge Ram crossed the centre line of
Highway 21 southbound as he exited from the Yellowhead heading east.

According to Burgess, as he exited the Yellowhead he continued the
arc from the off-ramp and slammed into a northbound SUV killing Tammy
Engelking, 27, and Henry Yao, 40.

Two male passengers of the SUV were injured and taken to hospital.
McIlwrick was also taken to hospital.

According to a doctor who testified at the trial, McIlwrick was a
"chronic marijuana user."

On the morning of the crash, Burgess said McIlwrick's common law
spouse had trouble waking him, trying several times to get him out of bed.

At the time, he was taking four prescription drugs, two of which have
warnings not to drive after taking the medication. The other two were
also said to induce drowsiness.

He woke around 7 a.m. and left his house five to 10 minutes later.
McIlwrick then smoked marijuana in his truck.

Burgess said at 7:30 a.m. the estimated time of the crash, THC, which
is the ingredient that causes impairment, would have been peaking or
may have just peaked.

He said the combination of the drugs could have caused a "delirious
effect much greater than the prescription or marijuana alone."

McIlwrick's blood samples were taken two and a half hours after the
crash, which gave the THC levels significant time to drop, the judge
said. His blood was found to have 23 nanograms of THC per millilitre.
The judge then cited a study by a panel of experts that found between
five and 10 nanongrams per millilitre would be equivalent to the
legal limit of alcohol in most people.

No experts in the trial speculated what levels McIlwrick would have
had at the time of the crash, but Burgess said they would be
"significantly higher" and that a reading of over 20 nanograms per
millilitre was "clearly an impairment."

"The evidence at trial ruled out any other causes (of the crash),"
said the judge, when handing down his decision. "There is no evidence
roads, weather or mechanical defects caused the accident."

The conviction gave some relief to friends and family members of the
two people who died in the crash.

"I'm very pleased to see a guilty verdict, but it's not going to be
enough," said Margaret Rudnicki, Tammy Engelking's mother. "This is
the closest we'll get to justice."

Jennifer Sollosy, a longtime friend of Engelking's, said she would
have liked to have seen a decision sooner, but was happy it ended in
a conviction.

"There is no punishment that could be severe enough," she said.
"Nothing is ever going to bring her back."

The four people in the SUV were carpooling to their jobs in the lab
at the Shell refinery.

McIlwrick will be sentenced in Sherwood Park provincial court on June
19. He is prohibited from driving at until at least that date.