SUNDRE - A 32-year-old Sundre man who ran over and killed another man in Mountain View County in 2022 has been handed a 34-month prison term, court officials said Monday.
The sentencing before Justice Charlene Anderson came on Friday, July 19 following a jury trial in Court of King’s Bench in Calgary in May.
At the trial, Jason Kelley Burns was found not guilty of manslaughter in the death of Brendon McDonald, 34, also a Sundre resident, but guilty of the lesser charge of hit and run causing death.
McDonald was killed when a vehicle driven by Burns backed into him on March 1, 2022, the trial heard.
Burns was given credit for in-custody time of 214 days, which will be deducted at 1.5 days per credit from his 34-month prison term.
During the trial Burns was found guilty under Criminal Code Section 320.16, which reads: “Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance and who at the time of operating the conveyance knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the conveyance has been involved in an accident with a person or another conveyance and who fails, without reasonable excuse, to stop the conveyance, give their name and address and, if any person has been injured or appears to require assistance, offer assistance.”
Subsection 3 of Section 320.16 reads: “Everyone commits an offence who commits an offence under subsection (1) and who, at the time of committing the offence, knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the accident resulted in the death of another person or in bodily harm to another person whose death ensues.”
In a press release issued by RCMP shortly after the fatality, police said officers responded to a call involving a motor vehicle at a rural residence on Range Road 43 outside Sundre.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that an interaction occurred between two adult males resulting in the suspect striking the victim with a pickup truck while it operated in reverse. The pickup then fled the scene,” the release stated.
Burns is expected to begin serving his sentence this week.
