Youth sentencing arguments wrap up in Saskatoon court
Sentencing submissions concluded this week for a 14-year-old youth who admitted to driving a stolen black Dodge SUV before losing control on Idylwyld Drive and colliding with a van in May, an incident that left an 82-year-old man severely burned and critically injured.
Crown counsel asked the court to impose a custodial youth sentence, saying the incident was violent and resulted in serious harm to the victim. Defence counsel urged a non-custodial outcome, citing the youth's recent clinical diagnoses and a plan for treatment.
- Proposed Crown sentence: 10 months in secure custody, five months of community supervision, plus 12 months probation and a no-contact order with co-accused and complainants.
- Proposed defence sentence: time served, two years probation, a curfew and placement in a treatment centre on release.
- Co-accused outcome: a 24-year-old passenger pleaded guilty to being in a stolen vehicle and received time served.
The youth cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Court filings and submissions say he admitted to taking the stolen vehicle in Prince Albert and then driving erratically toward Saskatoon. Near the Highway 16 overpass he crossed a grassy median and collided with a Ford Transit van driven by Doug Bremner.
"I often wonder whether I will ever return to the life I once had. One of the hardest parts of this experience has been losing my independence and my dignity," Bremner wrote in his victim impact statement, which was read in court.
According to the Crown’s account and victim materials, Bremner was trapped when the van caught fire. He was rescued by first responders and airlifted to an Edmonton hospital where he remains in critical condition. Medical information read in court detailed extensive injuries, including second- and third-degree burns affecting roughly 20 per cent of his body, multiple fractures and internal damage.
| Injury | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Burns | Second- and third-degree burns to about 20% of body |
| Fractures | Femur, pelvis and multiple ribs |
| Other | Internal bleeding and organ damage |
Crown prosecutor Stephanie Varsanyi told the court the collision followed an assault the youth committed prior to stealing the vehicle, a factor the Crown said made the episode a violent event deserving of a custodial youth sentence. Varsanyi recommended a structured sentence that includes a period in closed custody followed by supervised release and probation with conditions, including community service.
Defence counsel Fola Adelugba argued the youth had already served significant pre-trial custody and that the court should consider recent diagnoses of autism and oppositional defiant disorder as relevant background to his actions. Adelugba asked the court to impose a non-custodial disposition or, at most, credit for time already spent in custody and a plan for treatment following release.
The case has raised difficult questions for the court about accountability, public safety and the youth justice principles that emphasise rehabilitation. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, courts must balance protection of the public with the rehabilitative needs of young offenders; both Crown and defence framed their proposals within that legal context.
Family impact extended beyond the injured man: in the months before the crash, Bremner had been caring for his wife while she underwent cancer treatment. The health-care upheaval since the crash has had ripple effects for his family, including missed treatments as loved ones travelled to be by his side in Edmonton.
A sentencing date for the youth was expected to be set by the court at a later scheduling appearance. The 24-year-old passenger, identified in court as Kiefer Ballantyne, received time served after pleading guilty to being in a stolen vehicle.
The matter remains a high-profile local reminder of the human cost of stolen vehicles, high-speed pursuits and young people who commit serious offences. The sentence that Saskatoon provincial court imposes will be watched closely by the victim’s family, the young person’s supporters, and others concerned about youth crime and public safety in the city.
