Ryan Miller will pay a $1,500 fine for causing the horrific crash on Highway 1 that killed two young children and left another paralyzed.
On Monday Miller was at B.C. Provincial Court in Port Coquitlam to plead guilty to driving without due care and attention, a charge under the Motor Vehicle Act, in the November 2008 crash in Coquitlam.
Eight members of the Moeller family were heading east on Highway 1 when smoke filled the minivan; the driver, Maria Moeller, panicked and stopped in the HOV lane and turned on her hazard lights. Several vehicles avoided the stopped van and called 911 but Miller, who was alone in his BMW X5 SUV and driving in the HOV lane, slammed into the back of the minivan.
Of the three Moeller brothers sitting in the back bench, nine-year-old Andrew and six-year-old Matthew died shortly after the crash. Karl, who was eight at the time, was left a paraplegic.
Miller read a statement in court Monday morning, saying the burden of the Moeller's loss is an overwhelming, "insurmountable burden" for him and his family. "I have a child of my own, and there's not a moment that goes by that I don't think of the Moeller family and the extreme loss and sorrow that they must live with each day," he said.
Judge Sheni Dossa said the crash was caused by Miller's momentary lapse in judgement, and ordered him to pay the $1,500 fine plus a $225 victim surcharge. It will be up to the superintendent of motor vehicles to decide on a driving prohibition.
