Woman gets four years in prison for drunk driving death

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on March 8, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

On the evening of Jan. 6, 2020, 18-year-old Courtney Engelina Gruninger became yet another drunk driving statistic.

The southern Alberta woman was travelling on Highway 3 east of Coaldale when she struck a vehicle that pulled out in front of her from a side road. With a blood-alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit, the other driver, Yvette Renee Bakko, turned onto the four-lane highway at night, straddled the yellow line and failed to accelerate to highway speed.

Following a two-day trial, Bakko was convicted of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death, and Monday in Lethbridge provincial court she was sentenced to four years in a federal penitentiary.

“Sadly, alcohol-related driving offences remain the second-leading criminal cause of death in Canada,” Judge Erin Olsen said as she read her sentencing decision.

She noted that even though the rate of impaired driving causing death has dropped 77 per cent since 1986, the court still sees too many cases.

“Courtney Gruninger died when she was only 18 years old; a time of life when she was full of hopes and dreams, and her family was full of pride at her potential,” Olsen said.

“Her mom, dad and siblings miss her terribly, and they have suffered terrible pain at her unnecessary death. She sparkled in a special way as she grew up in their loving care. What a terrible and senseless loss her death is for her family and for our community.”

Olsen acknowledged Bakko’s difficult childhood, and noted she and her family were abused by her alcoholic father.

“Miss Bakko started working at a young age so she could provide for herself and her brother, since her parents struggled to do so.”

Bakko also suffers from numerous, chronic health problems, including a thyroid condition that requires medication, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, neuralgia and deteriorating discs in her spine. She was also diagnosed with anxiety after the collision and she has flashbacks of the collision.

Olsen said, however, Bakko’s level of responsibility is high, and drunk driving is not just a social faux pas.

“The behaviour causing these deaths is criminal. Miss Bakko, a smart, kind, resilient, hard-working woman, ends up with a high degree of moral blameworthiness for the decision she made that caused Miss Gruninger’s death. Though she did not set out to kill anyone, she willingly assumed the risk that she could kill someone, by choosing to drive a truck that evening with a blood-alcohol content that exceeded the legal maximum.”

Olsen acknowledged Bakko’s sincere remorse, and noted by her comments in a letter she read in court she is “shattered” by the consequences of her own choice that day, that caused the young woman’s early death.

“Writing this letter is one of the hardest things I’ve decided to do,” Bakko said as she struggled, yet failed to control her voice and hold back tears. “I’ve had to dig up every single feeling and emotion that I’ve had for the last three years. It breaks my heart knowing that a young girl has lost her life.”

Bakko said she has suffered for three years with nightmares, meltdowns, anxiety, depression and the fear that another unexpected tragedy will occur. She also believes her feelings of sadness from Gruninger’s death will stay with her for the rest of her life.

“My heart truly goes out to all her loved ones.”

Olsen, in sentencing Bakko to four years in prison, said an appropriate sentencing range is between four and five years. The Crown had recommended a sentence between four and six years, while the defence had suggested a range of three to four years.

“There is nothing in your background or the circumstances of this case to justify a sentence of less than four years, nor are the aggravating factors such as to justify going much beyond four years,” Olsen concluded.

Bakko is also prohibited from driving for five years after she is released from custody, and she must submit a sample of her DNA for the National DNA Data Bank. Olsen also recommended that the correctional authorities make available to Bakko programs, counselling and treatment to address her “adverse childhood experiences and other trauma, as well as medications to manage her chronic and painful medical conditions.

Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter