Teen sentenced in 2014 crash that killed Sarah Wensley and J.P. Haughey back in court - Action News
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Saskatoon

Teen sentenced in 2014 crash that killed Sarah Wensley and J.P. Haughey back in court

Dave Wensley is not surprised that the teen involved in the crash that killed his daughter Sarah is back in court.

Dave Wensley says teen 'knows the system and now she's just making a mockery of it'

Dave Wensley with a portrait of his daughter, Sarah. (CBC)

The teenage passenger in a stolen truck that killed two teens in Saskatoon in 2014 is back in court.

"Here's a girl who's been in trouble since she was 12, 13 years old, in and out of court, knows the system and now she's just making a mockery of it, cause it's what she's used to," said Dave Wensley, father of one of the victims.

The 22nd Streetcrash killed Bethlehem High School studentsSarah Wensleyand J.P Haughey andseriously injured their classmate, Kara Mitsuing.

The teen in the stolen truck pleaded guiltyto five charges connected to the crash and was sentenced last yearto four months in closed custody, four months in open custody and four months in a community home.

No solace in being right

Wensleywent to that sentencing and questioned the effectiveness of the youth criminal justice system.

The teen in the truck that killed Sarah was not a passive passenger. Court heard how she had urged the driver to speed up when officers initially tried to stop the truck.

Yesterday, he was once again in provincial court, watching the young woman behind the prisoner's glass.

Fresh charges

The teen is now 20 years old. Although an adult now, she cannot be named because she was a youth at the time of the fatal crash.

She was arrested in Saskatoon on June 28 and has been in custody ever since. She was charged with obstruction of justice, for giving a false name to a police officer; breaching her release conditions; failing to keep the peace; and breaking her curfew.

It's the ordinariness ofthe charges that frustrate Wensley. He said theypoint to the shortcomings with the youth system.

Need real consequences

The teen was materially involved in a horrific crash that killed two people. Wensleyis still angry that, because she pleaded guilty, she never had to account for her actions that night in a trial or face any cross-examination about what happened.

How, he asked, can she expect to respect a system that fails to hold her to account?

And what sort of help is she really getting?

"This is a person who's going to continue living that lifestyle. Is anybody really helping her, or is she just lost in the system?" he said.

"We got to show them that there's consequences. We got to deter their actions from doing it again. And we're not doing that, we're not helping these kids. We're just showing them the system, and how easy it is to beat."

The young woman was released yesterday for timeserved.