Cody Diebold's death by car accident was instant but his family's pain has been constant, provincial court heard Friday. The cause of the 21-year-old's devastating, tragic death was repeatedly described as a "momentary lapse" in attention by the driver who hit him last May.
Simon David Michael Wagstaffe, a Prince George lawyer, appeared Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act.
Before she fined Wagstaffe $1,500, visiting provincial court judge Melissa Gillespie explained to the family that she could not rule on their loved one's death but rather what evidence showed to be a "momentary lapse" in Wagstaffe's attention on the road.
"These are very challenging and difficult cases. A mere moment of inattention on the part of Mr. Wagstaffe results in the most severe of consequences: the loss of a young life filled with promise and hope, a loss that is catastrophic to the family and the community at large," said Gillespie, who followed the joint submission presented in court.
"Cody's memory lives in the walls of your house that he helped build with you. It lives in your heart, it lives in your soul and the sorrow that binds your family."
Both sides wish for only one thing, she said: "And that is that Cody could come back. This sentence today cannot produce that result."
Pausing throughout his address to the family, Wagstaffe whispered he was "very, very sorry."
"If I could take it back of course I would... But I can't. I don't have words," said Wagstaffe, voice breaking on that last syllable. "How sorry I am."
The 64-year-old addressed Cody's mother, father and sister, holding their printed victim impact statements.
"I fully accept that and hold the weight that they have," said Wagstaffe, who has practiced law in Prince George for more than 30 years.
Cody's mother described her son as her shadow, her rock.
"The pain is immeasurable and the grief is endless," wrote Lou-Anne Diebold, recalling that night she waved and watched him leave the last time, off to a friend's barbeque he wasn't sure he would attend.
"He hugged me and told me he loved me."
Cody was driving home southbound on Highway 97 at around 10:40 p.m. on May 28, 2015. On a green light he drove through the Austin Road intersection as Wagstaffe turned left, striking Cody’s Volkwagen Golf with his GMC truck. Both vehicles sustained significant front-end damage and Cody died at the scene. Police said witness interviews found no suggestion that Wagstaffe had been driving erratically before or that alcohol or speed was a factor.
Crown prosecutor Andrew Vandersluys, from Kelowna, said Wagstaffe was cooperative with police, explaining he was distracted and hadn't seen the white car.
"He was forthright indicating his thoughts were on work, he had a busy day," said Vandersluys. Wagstaffe's recent driving record showed two speeding tickets since 2011.
Later, defence lawyer Brian Gilson described his client, who has two children, crying after the accident and immediately expressing his desire to plead guilty. Wagstaffe hasn't driven since that night, Gilson said, relying on family to drive him 35 minutes to his Prince Goerge office or staying overnight.
After the judgment, the family said it didn't feel like justice, shocked that an accident causing death could result in a fine.
Cody was a source of endless support for the tight-knit family. He'd been home schooled and helped build the family's dream home on an acreage outside the city. He worked as a landscaper and a heavy-duty equipment operator and helped support his family, who wrote of the financial strain it has caused, though still secondary to their grief.
Her little brother was her best friend, "a loving, caring person," Julie Diebold said.
"It's really tough because he battled so many things," added father Mick Diebold, recalling Cody's clubfoot at birth and the surgery afterwards. While he couldn't play sports, Cody loved being outdoors and was Lou-Anne's hunting partner, bringing home food that would serve as their main source of meat.
"That boy could put away a plate of spaghetti," Mick laughed, his eyes betraying the wet sheen of unshed tears. Every night he watches his wife continue her bedtime ritual, saying goodnight to her children.
"(S)he goes into Cody's room and I hear her talk to him and I hear her cry," wrote Mick, who spoke of unreturned calls to victim services for support.
Cody's shoes still sit by their back door. They described living like robots, each seeing the other's grief, how it has aged them and how they are unable to ease that pain.
The sombre courtroom Friday was a space to recognize Cody's death, rather than punish Wagstaffe, Gilson said.
"There's been two tragedies here: one is to the Wagstaffe family, one is to the Diebold family and they're both immeasurable," Gilson said. "Mr. Wagstaffe has a life sentence: he's got to think about it and he thinks about it every day."
