A B.C. nurse has been found guilty on two counts of dangerous driving causing death relating to a 2010 collision in Pitt Meadows that killed a young couple.
The decision was announced Monday in B.C. Supreme Court, according to the court registry.
"Finally!!!," Debbie Dyer, the mother of one of the victims, wrote on Facebook.
"So releived [sic] that justice was with us today. Love you all!!"
Andelina Kristina Hecimovic was acquitted of dangerous driving causing death following a trial in New Westminster Supreme Court in September 2013.
Johnny De Oliveira, 21, and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Beckie Dyer, died when the roof of their Suzuki Swift was ripped off by an out-of-control car that flipped over the median on Lougheed Highway near Harris Road in Pitt Meadows late at night in October 2010.
Hecimovic was driving her Toyota in the right-turn-only lane when she crossed the intersection of Harris Road and Lougheed Highway on a red light.
An expert estimated during the 2013 trial that she hit the concrete median at a speed of between 100 or 110 km/hr.
Hecimovic took the stand in her defence and testified that she was heading to her boyfriend's house after a trying day working as a nurse at Eagle Ridge Hospital, where a suicidal young man vomited on her.
Hecimovic told the court she was thinking about her shift and suddenly smelled something odd as she approached the intersection. When she looked at her scrubs, she noticed vomit on her shirt and burst into tears.
She was trying to wipe the tears off her face and focus on the road when she realized she had run a red light.
Crown alleged Hecimovic made a series of "deliberate" decisions that led to her losing control of her car after she hit a concrete island.
Justice Gropper disagreed.
She believed that Hecimovic was not trying to beat the red light.
The judge found Hecimovic's behaviour was not a "marked departure from the norm" as many people speed along that particular stretch of Lougheed Highway.
Justice Gropper also believed that Hecimovic was unfamiliar with that stretch of highway, although her fiancé had lived about a kilometre ahead, on Meadows Gardens Way, for almost two years before the crash.
The Meadows Gardens Way address was also listed on Hecimovic's novice license.
"The move to the right lane was an error, but not a deliberate attempt to get ahead of traffic," said Justice Gropper.
She found there was no evidence presented to show that Hecimovic was trying to jump the red light.
"Going through a red light is dangerous, but it happens. People misperceive lights," Justice Gropper added.
"I accept the accused evidence that she did not see the light until she was at the intersection."
In short, Justice Gropper characterized Hecimovic's driving as "simple carelessness."
"The Crown has not met the heavy onus required. I am not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's driving constitutes the offence of dangerous driving causing death," she said.
After Hecimovic was found not guilty, the Crown prosecutor appealed, alleging the trial judge made a legal error.
In October 2014, the B.C. Court of Appeal set aside Hecimovic's acquittal and ordered a new trial.
Hecimovic appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada to have that decision overturned.
In November 2015, the court dismissed the appeal.
The second trial took place in November 2016 in B.C. Supreme Court over a two-week period.
The decision, however, was reserved until mid-January.
Sentencing takes place on April 20.
However, Debbie Dyer said Monday the conviction can still be appealed if the judge erred in his decision.
The sentence can also be appealed.
"So it's really not over yet."
But during the most recent trial, she added, Crown prosecutors redoubled their efforts.
Crown counsel Andrew Blunt "is absolutely amazing," Dyer said.
"It's unfortunate that Crown counsel is held to such a higher threshold than anybody else."
Dyer said she's had lots of support during her seven years of following the case.
The next step is to read victim impact statements when sentencing begins in April.
Dyer has pursued the case because she doesn't want an acquittal to serve as a precedent for future ones.
"Hopefully, people are paying attention. One day, it could be your loved one," she said.
"They were just upstanding kids and didn't deserve to die."