The male victim of the crash is ferried away by paramedics.

ly 2, 1999 ~ North Sh

r

Apology for death just ‘words’ to widower

From page 1
“The

something wrong with the system,” she
said. “I don’r think that alcoholism and drug addic-
tion absolves you from criminal behavior.” i
works in Vancouver's Downtown Ease

familiar with the issue. “! don’t want my grandchil-

fy

dren to think it’s acceptable behavior to do thi

Reva McDonnell, a friend of Marlisse, and
Richards’ family have has expressed concern Goethals
may not get jail time for her cnme.

“It was a crime,” said McDonnell in a June 16
News story. “It’s a pretry complex issue and | don’t
want to sound revenge secking,” she said.

McDonnell is concerned a conditional sentence

may not act as an effective deterren

“People are still being killed every day by drunk
drivers,” she said. “I think the more that people get
riled, get angry, then there will be changes.”

Goethals had been curling at the North Shore
Winter Club on the fateful evening, but left at about
11 p.m. and went somewhere else betore driving on to
the highway.

Peter Richards, Marlisse’s husband, and children

a, 12, and son Ron, 14, satin the front row of the
courtroom gallery when Goethals apologized tor the

lize words are not enough,” Goethals said,
ing the victim's family in court Tuesday. “T do
want to express niy sympathy and deep regret tor what

happened. Marlisse seemed like she was a great
woman.”

The apology didn’t mean much to Peter. “I wasn’t
paying, too much attention to what she was saying,”
he said afterward. “Words, they don’t mean too much
toc. It’s not guing to bring he

He said that some members of the family, howev-
er, did want to hear an apology.

Friends and family are still dealing with their loss.

“T can’t even put into words what Marlisse meant
to evervbudy,” said McDonnell in the June 16 story.
“There's a lot of us that are still having problems
like prict-related problems with it. f have good days
and bad days.”

Peter Richards said he was buoyed by the turnout.

Two

in crash

From pate V

rth Vancouver wont,

3 second driver spun
out of control and collided
with a third 1y
Vigor driven by a 48-year-old
Burnaby man.

Jamal escaped the incident
without injury and with lice
damage to her car, a 1989
Chevrolet. The older woman,
who suffered injuries to her
chest, legs, and wr was
cut out of her vehicle by
emergency crews at the
scene, She was transported to
Lions Gate Hospital along
with the male driver, who
suffered injuries to his neck,
bac chest.

The vehicles of both vie-
tims were “pretiy much wrir-
ten otf," said Const. Heidi
Hoffmann.

THE husband and son of the female crash: victim console each other at the scene.

MARLISSE Richards
died in a collision Dec. 4
on the Upper Levels.