Steve Dahnert More than two years after a Penticton father and wife were killed in a crash on Highway 33 east of Kelowna, his family still can’t come to terms with the loss. Steve Dahnert, 60, was killed in an accident on October 12, 2020 at the freeway’s Goudie Road fork when an oncoming SUV crossed the center line and struck his motorcycle. The SUV was driven by Carlie Dudych, 20, who appeared in Kelowna court on Monday and was fined $2,000 after being convicted under the Motor Vehicle Act of driving without due care and attention. The standard penalty for the non-criminal offense is a $368 ticket, with a maximum fine of $2,000 and up to six months in jail in the most serious cases. Judge Andrew Tam accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defense for the $2,000 sentence after an hour-long hearing with seven heartbreaking victim impact statements from Dahnert’s family read in court. “Since October 12, 2020, my life has been a dark hole. I spent months in shock and then deep depression. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep,” Dannert’s wife, Tracy Dannert, said in her statement read by the Crown attorney. “I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone. Sometimes I wanted to die myself, but I knew I would never do that to my family.” The Crown also read statements from Dunhert’s daughters, mother and mother-in-law in front of a gallery packed with his family, who at times wept. “I don’t know if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t admit or recognize your own responsibility for your actions, or if you’re the kind of person who will feel remorse every day for causing the death of one person and destroying so many worlds,” she said. Dannert’s daughter Siobhan Wyman’s impact statement. “Either way, it doesn’t matter to me. You have to live with what you did without my dad.” Dudych, who was accompanied only by her lawyer, listened as she stared at the courtroom’s brown carpet and wood-paneled walls. Tracy Danhert’s brother, Anders Stewart, delivered his own victim impact statement while facing a portrait of Steve Danhert that he brought into the courtroom. “I am angry with you, Mrs. Dudich, I do not forgive you,” he said. “You shattered our world and I want you to know that. I want you to fully understand the devastation your actions have caused.” “My amazing sister’s life was changed forever. She is broken beyond words. Now I lie awake most nights wondering if she is asleep or if she is awake and shaking with anxiety, sadness and loss. I don’t know how to help her. I feel lost and helpless,” Stewart continued. It’s not entirely clear what exactly caused Dudych to fully cross the center line at the Highway 33 hairpin before the crash. Speed, drugs and alcohol were ruled out by police, resulting in a Motor Vehicle Act charge rather than a criminal charge. “This hairpin turn is notorious if you drive Highway 33, it has flashing lights, it has warning signs, it screams for the driver to be very careful what they are doing. And he failed to owe that duty to other drivers that day,” the Crown prosecutor said. The court heard Dudych, who was 18 and still a high school student at the time of the crash, had no previous criminal or driving record. He is now attending post-secondary school to become a heavy duty engineer. Dadich never left the house that day with the intention of harming anyone, her attorney, Grant Gray, said. “It was just a very, very tragic accident. She accepts it’s her fault, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a tragic accident,” Gray said. When given the opportunity to speak, Dudych said “I’m really very sorry,” but declined to elaborate or elaborate. Any possible driving bans for Dudych will be left to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Before his death, Dahnert was an enthusiastic instructor at Okanagan College’s Penticton campus. The College established the Steve Dahnert Memorial Electrical Apprenticeship Award in his honor. with files from Nich Johansen
