A 21-year-old Comox Valley man has been sentenced to 12 months of probation and been given a 10-month driving ban for a collision that killed 29-year-old Melissa Stathers in 2022.The B.C. provincial court ruling by Judge Jeremy Hermanson said that friends and relatives of Stathers described the heartbreak of her death “in moving and eloquent terms.”
Hoelzley pleaded guilty to one count of driving without due care and attention. The court heard he was driving home about 4 p.m. on May 11, 2022 from North Island College in Campbell River, where was studying to be a pipefitter, when he entered a slight curve on Highway 19A and “inexplicably” crossed the double-yellow centre line — hitting Stathers’ vehicle.“There is no suggestion of intoxication, excessive speed or aggressive driving on his part.
The judge said that Stathers, a teacher and coach, was on the verge of getting married when the incident occurred. She and her fiancé had just moved to Courtenay and bought a house.