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A 4 - The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y F e b ru a ry 6, 2002 18-month conditional sentence for driver involved in fatal crash with OPP cruiser An Oakville truck driver will not be sent to jail for killing an OPP Constable in a collision on the Queen Elizabeth Way in St. Catharines more than two years ago. Douglas Reyes, 28, received an 18-month conditional sentence on Friday from Ontario Superior Court Justice Patrick Gravely. Reyes was delivering a load of potatoes in his cube truck on Sept. 30, 1999, when he fell asleep at the wheel and rammed into an OPP cruiser at the bottom of the Garden City Skyway in the early morning hours. OPP Constable Chuck Mercier, 34, a married father of two young children was killed instantly in the collision. The judge said he was satisfied that Reyes, who had no previous criminal record, did not pose a threat to the community and was a low risk of reoffending. The conditional sentence means Reyes, who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, will be able to remain out of j a i l u n d e r Mr ICt c a u d it io ns. 11c h as been banned from driving for three years, ordered to do 240 hours of community service, and must undergo treatment for a sleep disorder and depression. A former Hamilton resident now living in Oakville. Reyes offered his sympathies to the Mercier family after the sentence was handed down. "The only statement Id like to make is to express my sincere condolences to the family of the victim," he told reporters. During the sentencing hearing, defence lawyer Mark De Marco said Reyes was still haunted by the murder of his own mother -- who was hacked to death by her hus band in 1994 -- when he rammed Mercier's cruiser, which had a flashing sign on the roof directing motorists to change lane. One of four children, he was inside the family home on Hamilton Mountain when his estranged father drove up and ran over 47-year-old Alba FuentesReyes. With horrified neighbours watching, Camelo Reyes, 58, proceeded to had e hc r t o d eat h w ith a machete. Since the incident, Reyes has suffered depression with suicidal tendencies and has been diag nosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, a condition commonly associated with Vietnam veterans. He keeps the light on in his bed room at night and has developed a sleep disorder that causes him to nod off during the day, as he did moments before he struck the cruiser. He told police he had been up since 4:30 a.m. and was still tired from working 16 hours the day before. He turned up the radio and took two coffee breaks to keep awake because he feared he might doze off again. Just a few months earlier, he had fallen asleep at the wheel of his cube tmck. which he used to delivery potatoes, and rammed another vehicle in Niagara Falls. Assistant Crown Attorney Barry Hill had urged Gravety to send Reyes to jail for 18 months, rather than allow him to remain in the community. ------------ * -T iw .inv iV riv.t S n vire ' Oliver demands written response to questions (Continued from page A1) "Staff keep telling the public and council that many tilings will be dealt with at the secondary stage. Ls it not possible that if cer tain things are not done prior to the secondary planning stage, it will be too late or near impossible to implement them ?' asked Oliver. He wondered why the town was not including a natural her itage system into plans for north Oakville. "Would it not be better to plan the whole concept at' the outset as has been done in other communities or is it the case of the staff, and yes, even some members of council that want it their way?" charged Oliver. "Why, and who is responsible for the whole project being pro longed to the degree that we now have to play catch-up, at the 11th hour, and be forced to do so by the developers ... and, in so doing, may miss very important aspects of the planning which will affect the town and residents in years to come?" he asked. Oliver also criticized the way the Stakeholders Advisory Committee (SAC) was handled. "Was it because some mem bers of staff disagreed with the program and took the approach to stall it and it may go away?" Oliver continued. He asked for prompt, written responses to his questions. "It is my opinion that both the Council and the ratepayers have been kept in the dark with respect to the process in the OPA 198." After Town Manager Joann Chechalk promised expedient answers. Ward 4 Councillor Allan Elgar jumped in. Elgar dubbed the OPA 198 "the biggest thing we'll deal with over this three-year term of coun cil." He called for councillors to receive copies of all information related to OPA 198. "We'd be killing more trees trying to save trees," responded Ward 6 Councillor Kurt Franklin. "I'm getting tired of the whole idea that we can't oppose any thing in OPA 198 without being afraid. Enough is enough. We have a wealth of information and if we want to know something, all we have to do is to go ask staff," said Franklin. "The whole process is becom ing a little exasperating. The lapse in time that some people are talk ing about may well be because we keep taking staff away from their job and sending them off on tan gents," said Ward 6 Councillor Janice Wright Mayor Ann Mulvale told councillors that nothing was being hidden from council, "We're all, hopefully, moving toward being a team and building the very best, defensible OPA 198 that we can." Councillors, even dissenters, quickly voted unanimously for Elgar's request for information. It was, however, tailored to include only final documents; only written, not verbal, informa tion and all to be provided in a binder in the councillors' lounge as opposed to being hand-deliv ered to individual councillors. CAA Member Non-Member SAVINGS Auto Home Total $ 829 *316 *1,145 $ 1,058 *410 *1,468 | 1 s9 4 $3 2 3 call for a no-obligation quote 1-866-593-7250 Program underwritten by Lombard General Insurance Company of Canada. The savings clatm » based on the premium Lombard Canada wuuLJ charge a 45 year old male dnver m Oakville. Ontario with a 7 vrar claims-free insurance record driving a 2000 four-dot* Ford Taurus LX for pleasure purposes with a combined home and auto insurance package. T he difference between the premium for a C A A member and the premium for a non-CAA member i» approximately $323. Premium* may vary for specific driven depending upon individual facton. Property: Compteheruivc Homeowner* Package. 5500 deductible, h illt in 1990. 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