Punishment won't fit crime, says father of brain-injured man hurt in drunk driving accident
16-year-old ATV driver facing judgement day in court on Monday
The father of a teenage boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being knocked down by an impaired driver more than a year ago doesn't think the punishment will fit the crime.
Brian Duffenais's son Colby, now 21, was struck by an all terrain vehicle in the early morning hours of December 26, 2015.
He and a friend were walking home from a party on the main road in Piccadilly at 3 a.m. when the ATV came from behind and struck Colby, throwing him 200 feet.
The 16-year-old driver was charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and pleaded guilty.
Sentencing is set for Monday but Duffenais said that won't be the end for his family.
"I'll never have any grandchildren from Colby," he told CBC News.
"The chances are he will never get married. He will have a quality of life. He will have us. But not the quality of life that he used to have. The young feller, he can go on with his life. He can get married. He can have kids. He can go to school. He can do something with his life."
Hardly recognized his son
After the accident, Colby Duffenais was taken to hospital in Stephenville and later transferred to St. John's, where he had surgery.
His father said he didn't even recognize his son at the hospital. If it wasn't for their matching tattoos, he wouldn't have known it was him.
Colby spent a long time at the Health Science Centre in St. John's, until doctors said there was little progress and no point for rehabilitation. He was transferred to the Sir Thomas Roddick Hospital in Stephenville, where his father and grandmother visit daily.
"He can't eat, he can't walk. He can move his head back and forth. He can vocalize a little bit. He makes sounds. He can recognize us, you can tell," said Duffenais.
Not an accident
He isn't expecting the court to come down hard on the ATV driver when sentencing is handed down 3 p.m. Monday.
"I don't think he is going to get much. He might get two years' probation, some community service. I really don't think the punishment is going to fit the crime," said Duffenais.
The father fidgets in his seat. His face turns red. He doesn't consider what happened to his son to be an accident.
CBC asked the accused and his parents for a comment, but no one responded as of Friday.
I'll take my son any way I can.- Brian Duffenais
Duffenais plans on bringing Colby home. The family will have full time support staff to help him eat, bathe and get in and out of his wheelchair.
His apartment, which will be attached to his grandmother's home, should be ready in March.
"I'll take my son any way I can," said Duffenais.