Doctor sentenced for fatally hitting nurse

A Whitehorse doctor who struck and killed a young Alberta woman in a downtown crosswalk on Aug. 19, 2008 was put under house arrest Thursday, after being found guilty of careless driving.

Dr. Vivian Matta failed to stop at the pedestrian crossing at Second Avenue and Steele Street in Whitehorse.

That happened in spite of the fact three other vehicles before her had all stopped to let Becky Shank cross, Judge John Faulkner of Yukon territorial court said during the sentencing hearing.

The first driver to stop for Shank, Murray Stevenson, said the pedestrian stopped, made eye contact and waved to him before stepping out onto the street.

He said he saw Matta’s vehicle coming up on his left out of the corner of his eye, glanced to his side view mirror, then looked back up to see Shank stepping out into Matta’s path.

Shank, a 26-year-old nurse living in Edmonton, was in Whitehorse to be the maid of honour at her best friend’s wedding, planned for Aug. 23, 2008.

She was struck by Matta’s blue Honda CV and carried into the intersection.

Both Matta and a nurse who happened to be passing by attempted to help the woman as she lay on the ground, the court heard, as did the ambulance attendants who arrived shortly after.

Shank was taken to Whitehorse General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Shank died because Matta was oblivious to the actions of the other vehicles on the road, Faulkner said, and thus oblivious to the fact a pedestrian was in the crosswalk.

In handing down the sentence, the judge noted the many victim impact   statements written by Shank’s friends and family members.

Her death was devastating to them, he said, and no sentence – no matter how long – could ever cure the pain felt by those left behind.

“Answering the question of ‘What is a fit sentence in a case such as this?’ is not simple,” Faulkner said.

Because the charge against Matta was a summary conviction, the maximum penalty he could impose was three months in jail, a $1,000 fine and a three-month driving suspension.

Crown prosecutor Judy Hartling suggested Matta be given one month’s house arrest, the maximum fine and be required to do a speaking tour of the four Whitehorse secondary schools to talk to students about the consequences of careless driving. 

The judge agreed with the suggested term of house arrest and the fine. However, he said Matta would do more good by focusing on her role as a medical doctor working part-time at the youth detention centre, than lecturing teenagers.

He also imposed the maximum three-month suspension of her driver’s licence.

“I understand that those who knew and loved Becky Shank will think the sentence is inadequate ... and Becky’s loved ones will say her life is worth more than a thousand dollars and a month’s house arrest,” Faulkner said of the sentence.

But the fact is, “no sentence the court can impose will undo what has been done,” he said.