An agreed statement made in a Calgary court confirmed that Ryan Jordan Gibson was guilty of drunk driving and killing Cochrane teen Brandon Thomas.
Gibson will always be labeled a drunk driver and, even though he is the direct cause of death, might only see two years in federal custody.
First lets look at what the agreed upon facts conclude.
Fact: Gibson was in Cochrane visiting friends on the evening he drove drunk and killed 17-year-old Thomas.
To those “friends,” I hope you read this and I hope you feel as disgusted as I am. You let someone get behind the wheel of a truck with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in their system. Friends should not let friends drive drunk.
The newspapers, TV stations and courts say Gibson will receive a “deal,” likely two years plus one day in exchange for his guilty plea. Meaning, he will be in a federal prison, but will likely serve much less time (good behavior and such), because it’s his first crime, with some saying, “He’s a good kid.”
But I question whether Gibson, a 23 year old who simply wanted to save his own skin, has driven drunk in the past. Just because someone doesn’t get caught nine times out of 10, doesn’t make them a good person, it makes them dangerous.
So to the Thomas family, I am sorry for your loss, just as I am sorry for everyone else involved Dec. 6, 2012, except Gibson, may he have a hard two years in federal prison to consider what he did that evening.
May this be a lesson to all Cochrane youth, don’t drink and drive…ever.
Don’t have three or four bottles of beer, or a few shots – just don’t drink booze and ever get behind the wheel.
You, and many others, will end up devastated.
