'No justice, no closure:' Family outraged that driver in deadly B.C. crash won't serve jail time

The family of a young woman killed in a 2020 crash in Coquitlam says the driver's sentence falls short of delivering justice or closure.

Ryan Stayner was driving140 kilometres an hour in Coquitlam when his pick-up truck hit a concrete barrier and flipped over. He would not be seriously injured but his passenger, Kathryn Hill, would not survive the August 2020 crash.

“I miss everything about her and I’ll never get her back,” said her grieving mother, Kelly Hill, outside the sentencing hearing for the driver on Wednesday.

The court heard that a toxicology report found Stayner, now 36, had fentanyl and cocaine in his system the night of the crash. But the report could not determine when the drugs were consumed or whether he was impaired.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death.

The victim’s sister, Stephanie Swift, read an emotional victim impact statement.

"You killed her, but I watched her die…I hope you understand the trauma and anger you caused me," she said, addressing Stayner.

She said she hopes the driver carries the guilt of what he did with him for the rest of his life.