A man charged in with connection with a motorcycle crash on Sept. 14, 2017 that killed a Maple Ridge mother pleaded guilty to four charges Tuesday in Port Coquitlam provincial court.
According to the court registry, Ryan Gerald Lowe pleaded guilty to charges of impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm to two others – failing to stop at the scene of an accident and public mischief for reporting a theft of a vehicle, when none had occurred.
Lowe, from Chilliwack and born in 1984, initially faced eight charges in February. He’ll be sentenced early in the new year.
Laura Jeglum-Woycheshen, a 48-year-old Maple Ridge mother and grandmother, riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, died in the head-on collision. She was riding on Lougheed Highway, near 280th Street, with a group of friends, on her way back from dinner.
She was travelling westbound on the road at the time of the collision, just before 9 p.m.
Two other people were seriously injured, but survived, according to Ridge Meadows RCMP.
A five-month investigation led officers across multiple jurisdictions, including Maple Ridge, Mission and Chilliwack.
The victim’s son, Rob Jeglum, said the case has prolonged the suffering for the family, members of which are trying to go through the grieving process. But he can’t yet do that as he remains focused on the details of the case.
“It’s been really hard to move forward and deal with the pain. Once he’s finally sentenced, now I have to deal with her motorcycle and personal effects. I have to open the wound up wide open again, just to try seal it,” Jeglum said Wednesday.
“When somebody passes away, you slowly start to heal and deal with those,” he added.
“When this first happened, I never thought that this far down the road, how much pain there would be left.”
Jeglum said previously that his mom was “a very loving person,” who loved riding her motorcycle and was known for bringing the family together.