A drunk driver has been sentenced to four years in prison for causing a crash that claimed the life of a woman in Richmond five years ago and seriously injured a man.
Christopher MacDonald, 29, of Vancouver, was sentenced in Richmond Provincial Court Thursday, after earlier pleading guilty to two charges related to the incident near YVR.
He has also received a five-year driving probation.Â
In 2015, the News reported that Richmond RCMP responded to a two-vehicle incident on Grant McConachie Way around 9:45 p.m., after a Mercedes — driven by then 24-year-old MacDonald — struck a Porsche 911 replica from behind.
According to RCMP at the time, the impact from the Mercedes sent the Porsche — driven by Delta resident Glenn Taylor — off the road, where it then crashed into a tree.
Taylor’s passenger, Marcela Avila Matamoros, 42, was pronounced dead at hospital. She was visiting from Costa Rica.
Taylor, who was 50 at the time, was taken to hospital in critical condition, according to a statement from police.
MacDonald initially pleaded not guilty to all charges at a Jan. 6 court appearance.
However, he later changed his plea to guilty to two charges relating to drunk driving causing bodily harm to Taylor and the death of Matamoros.
The Crown accepted the not guilty plea for the remaining charges, which included dangerous driving.
