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Reckless driver sentenced to jail for Abbotsford crash that killed his wife

Louis Morgan also gets 5-year driving ban for dangerous driving causing death
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Louis Morgan has now been sentenced for a 2016 rollover crash on Highway 1 near the Clearbrook Road exit in Abbotsford that resulted in the death of his wife, Shantelle. (Kevin MacDonald file photo)

A man whose wife died in an Abbotsford car crash while he was driving recklessly in 2016 has been sentenced to a jail term of two years less a day and a five-year driving ban.

Louis Morgan, 50, was also sentenced June 23 to B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster to three years’ probation.

Morgan previously pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death in the crash that killed his wife, 34-year-old Shantelle Morgan, while she was a passenger in his vehicle on April 9, 2016.

A sentence of under two years means that Morgan will be held in a provincial, rather than federal, institution.

The court previously heard that, on that evening, Morgan was driving his Mustang westbound on Highway 1 at a speed of between 120 and 140 km/h, weaving in and out of traffic, and tailgating slower drivers.

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After a white BMW passed Morgan in the area, witnesses reported his Mustang appeared to be bent on overtaking the car.

One witness reported seeing the vehicles “rat-racing” and switching lanes four to five times, Crown counsel Carolyn Lawlor told the court in February.

Morgan’s car swerved in front of another vehicle, fishtailed wildly, then catapulted down the road, flipping end over end before coming to a rest upside-down in the median between the Clearbrook and Mt. Lehman Road exits, Lawlor said.

Shantelle died from her injuries shortly after being rushed to hospital.

Although Morgan was originally charged with impaired driving causing death, that was stayed after a preliminary inquiry revealed there wasn’t enough evidence to justify prosecuting for that crime.

Morgan has a history of driving offences, having previously received seven 24-hour driving bans and having been convicted of impaired driving in 2001 and 2006.

– with files from Tyler Olsen

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Vikki Hopes | Reporter
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Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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