‘He took a life here’: Family of woman killed by driver outraged over sentencing

It's been a long two and a half years for the family of a skateboarder who was struck and killed along a Calgary street.

The family of a woman killed by a driver who was facing impaired driving charges is upset with his sentence.

On July 28, 2022, 29-year-old Alyssa Richards was hit by a vehicle and died while skateboarding in Huntington Hills.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/23-year-old-charged-in-calgary-crash-that-killed-skateboarder/

Austin O’Bray was charged with impaired driving and dangerous driving causing death.

The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving.

O’Bray was handed a $2,000 fine while having his licence suspended for three months.

“He took a life here, he took a mother, took a sister, took a daughter. I don’t think that we need to be the ones that live through this when he just gets a fine,” said Richards’ sister Dani Godkin.

The collision happened on Fourth Street N.E. between the two entrances to Huntstrom Drive at 2 a.m. on July 28, 2022.

Police say a woman was skateboarding in the southbound lane of Fourth Street when she was hit by an Infiniti M35X. At the time, police noted there was no sidewalk in the area.

The driver remained at the scene. Neither he nor his passenger, a man in his 20s, were injured. Due to problems from the breathalyzer sample, the impaired driving charge was thrown out.

“They spent most of the time trying to show what a good person this kid is and that he deserves a life,” said Richards’ family friend Amy Laberge while talking about the court case.

Richards leaves behind her now six-year-old son Sebastian Alfaro.

The court heard victim impact statements from Alfaro, read by Richards’ mother, along with statements from her stepfather, niece and a family friend.

“It’s been very hard on all of us,” said Godkin. “It’s unbearable, there’s not that sisterly bond.”

Godkin also read a statement calling her sister kind and caring, while also discussing the hardship the family faces and called for prison time for O’Bray.

“She still had a life to live, that she didn’t get to live,” said Godkin.

O’Bray addressed the family for his actions saying he offers a sincere apology and deeply regrets what he did, while carrying remorse.