Father gets 6 years for crash that killed 7-year-old son

A man who was behind the wheel in a crash that killed his son on Vancouver Island has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Matthew Darlington, 49, pleaded guilty last month to operating a vehicle with methamphetamine in his bloodcausing death, according to a decision this week by provincial court judge Ted Gouge.

"Darlington poses a serious threat to public safety," Gouge said.

"His lengthy and serious driving history demonstrates that, when driving, he puts others at constant risk. As a consequence, the only way in which I can protect the public from him is to order his incarceration."

On a fall evening in 2021, Darlington and his family returned to Vancouver Island by ferry from Vancouver, according to the decision. Darlington ingested methamphetamine at about 7p.m. PT and smoked cannabis after arriving on Vancouver Island at about 11 p.m.

Around 2 a.m., Darlington's Chevrolet Cavalier crashed into a tree by the side of the road while leaving the highway near Sooke. Police said no other vehicles were involved in the collision, which happened inthe 5800 Block of Sooke Road.

His wife (now divorced) was sitting in the passenger seat. Their three children, ages seven, eight, and 10, were in the back, according to the judge.

Everyone in the vehicle was injured, and the seven-year-old died in hospital.

"Darlington has no memory of the crash, and appears to have been unconscious at the time," Gouge said.

Past driving convictions

The judge noted that Darlington hadbeen convicted of driving while prohibited multiple times before the 2021 crash:in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, twice in 2017, twice in 2019 and in 2022 eight months after the 2021 crash.

He has now been prohibited from driving for 35 years and ordered to provide a sample of his DNA.

"Darlington should never again drive a motor vehicle," Gouge said, though he noted that Darlington's "disobedience of past driving prohibitions demonstrates that he will probably continue to drive, no matter what order I make."

The Crown sought a five- to six-year prison term and a 15-year driving prohibition, while the defence asked for aconditional sentence of two years less one day.

The judge, takinginto consideration thatDarlingtonbreached his bail and probation orders seven times between 2013 and 2018, said it would be "unlikely" thatDarlingtonwould obey any sentencing conditions.