An Edmonton man who pleaded guilty for his role in an ATV accident that claimed his brother's life also faced a tearful sister who implored him to turn his life around.
Michael Tyler Dearden pleaded guilty to a traffic offence of driving an off-highway vehicle without due care and attention and was sentenced to two years probation in a Morinville courtroom.
The plea came as part of a deal that saw Dearden avoid more serious criminal charges and agree to the probationary term.
Dearden and his brother Farron Dearden were riding ATVs on April 28, 2009 near Highway 37 and Range Road 243A when they collided and were both seriously injured.
Farron was in a medically induced coma for three weeks before succumbing to his injuries, while Michael suffered skull fractures and other serious injuries, but eventually recovered.
According to an agreed statement of facts, seven days after the accident Deardon's sister, Sandra Tout, contacted the RCMP and said her brother had been drinking before the crash.
Tout claimed he had consumed alcohol that day and had slurred speech.
Dearden's plea did not include a formal impaired driving charge, but he admitted he was operating the ATV in a careless manner after consuming alcohol.
'You need to be accountable'
In a victim impact statement read into the record by Crown prosecutor Maria Caffaro, Tout told Dearden he needed to address his drinking problem.
"You use alcohol to get through your day. You are an alcoholic — that is how this happened. You need to be accountable."
She said she deeply missed her brother.
"I miss my brother Farron, who lost his life at age 23; I can't have him back."
Dearden's lawyer Gary Smith told the court the young man had already made huge progress addressing his addiction. He spent months in a treatment program and has even worked helping other addicts.
Dearden told Judge Bruce Garriock that he recognized the terrible toll alcohol had wrought in his life and desperately wanted to take everything back.
"I don't want to go back to that life because I know what it took from me. It took my brother and I miss him very much," he said. "This has been very hard. I know what happened, I can't take that back."
Smith said Dearden had already paid a terrible price for his alcoholism, which would never go away.
"He can't bring back his brother and he will have to live with that as a daily curse."
Traffic Safety Act charges rarely lead to probationary terms, but Caffaro and Smith both presented previous rulings from other judges, supporting the ability to impose the sentence.
Under the probationary term, Dearden will have to report to probation regularly, take counselling as directed and abstain from alcohol.
In agreeing to the sentence, Garriock encouraged Dearden to continue down the path he started and said it was clear from the statement that Tout did not want to lose another brother.
"She wants you to get sober, she wants you to forgive yourself."
