Driver who caused head-on crash in Tracadie Cross to be deported

A driver who pleaded guilty to causing a serious head-on crash at Tracadie Cross last summer may or may not be going to jail for his crime.

But either way, he will be deported.

Edwin Jos, 27, was in provincial court in Charlottetown Wednesday for a sentencing hearing.  

So were members of the family who suffered serious injuries when he crashed into them on Route 2 east of Charlottetown on July 18, 2022.

Court heard Jos was driving at high speed, swerving in and out of traffic and crossing the double line as he passed cars along a stretch of Route 2 from Jewell's Country Market to Blooming Point Road, where the crash took place.

A man and his two young daughters were in the car that Jos hit. One girl was trapped inside and needed the help of firefighters to get her out. Jos and one of the girls had to be airlifted to Halifax for medical treatment. 

Crown prosecutor John Diamond wants Jos sent to jail for 16 to 18 months.

"He intentionally took risk and caused significant harm," Diamond told the court. "Dangerous driving is a serious problem in this province."

Argument for house arrest

Defence lawyer Trish Cheverie argued for house arrest for two years, followed by probation.

Cheverie compared the case to a recent one in Prince County, where a motorcyclist was sentenced to house arrest after hitting a teenager who was crossing a road in O'Leary. The victim lost part of his leg as a result.

Recent changes in federal legislation have once again made house arrest possible for such crimes, said Cheverie, adding: "We're in a different world."  

However, Diamond countered by saying the Crown intends to appeal the conditional sentence that was handed down in the O'Leary case.

"What the community believes is appropriate is important here," said Diamond. "A conditional sentence is a huge break. The average person gets this ... I wish Parliament would quit tinkering with the Criminal Code."

Would be deported after sentence served

Cheverie told the court that Canada Border Services Agency is aware of the Jos case, and deportation proceedings will begin immediately after he is sentenced, with the understanding that he will be removed from Canada after any sentence is served.

Jos came to Canada from India in 2017 on a work permit, according to his lawyer. He'd been in P.E.I. since 2020, working at AgraWest in Souris.

Due to the seriousness of the offence, Jos is no longer eligible to apply to become a permanent resident of Canada, and deportation proceedings are automatic, Cheverie told court. 

If granted house arrest, Jos intends to live at the Rollo Bay Inn and to continue his employment at the AgraWest plant, court heard.

Jos has no memory of the crash, nor any events leading up to it "for about a day and a half," according to Cheverie.

Judge Nancy Orr adjourned the case to May 9 to review the case before handing down sentence.