Jared DeJong will have to wait longer to hear if he will be sentenced or not. The 24-year old DeJong had his first court appearance this morning in which is lawyer attended for him.
Police were rushed to Western University on the night of October 7 when an ‘out of control’ minivan jumped the curve and struck 18-year old Western student Andrea Christidis.
She later succumbed to her injuries in hospital a few days later.
DeJong was initially charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm, impaired operation causing bodily harm and for having in excess of 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood in his system
Charges were later upgraded and also includes one count of criminal negligence causing death.
The family of the late 18-year old Christidis were also at court this morning wiping away tears when they found out that court would be pushed back to a later date.
DeJong’s lawyer, Jim Dean, was at court representing him today and he says that right now that the 24-year old is still grieving, “Absolutely he’s distraught. It’s upsetting for everybody involved on both sides. He is not only dealing with the outcome of what happened and also the criminal charges he’s facing.”
“The crown and I will have some discussions and we’ll essentially be moving towards how to make the determination of how the case is going to unfold,” says Dean.
Dean adds that this kind of case is very upsetting for both parties.
DeJong’s next court appearance is set for December 8th. It is expected that he will not be in attendance.
