B.C. considering 'Xavier's Law' to crack down on drivers who cause death

The authorities of british people columbia river says it is looking for at options to acquire tougher on drivers involved in fatal crashes after the premier spoke to the family of a 12-year-old killed on Vancouver Island this past summer.

Xavier Rasul-Jankovics was rollerblading outside his home along a rural road in the Cowichan Valley on Aug. 25 when he was struck and killed by a vehicle.

In a release, RCMP Cpl. Alex Bérubé said speed "played an important factor" in the incident, with the 17-year-old driver of the Honda Civic losing control of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Rasul-Jankovics's family is mourning their loss and is frustrated with the the lack of answers over whether the driver of the vehicle that killed their son has been allowed back on the road in the interim.

"It's not an accident, it's a tragedy," father Josh Jankovics said from the family's farm, which is filled with hundreds of condolence cards the family has received since the loss. "Xavier was my right-hand man."

Jankovics and his other son were training with Xavier for hockey tryouts on a quiet, country road when he was killed.

This weekend a memorial hockey tournament is being in honour of Rasul-Jankovics. A fundraiser in his name, which will go towards school and sports scholarships, has raised more than $138,000, and roughly 2,000 people attended his memorial.

"He loved hockey and his teammates," said mother Zahra Rasul. "He wanted to be an astronaut, he wanted to go to space or play in the NHL."

The couple are pushing for reforms — which they are calling "Xavier's Law" — that would introduce immediate driving bans for drivers involved in incidents causing death, suspending their licence pending the completion of a police investigation and/or their court case.

They also want lifetime bans for drivers convicted of dangerous driving causing death.

"Cars are like weapons," Rasul said. "Xavier did not have a chance."

B.C. Premier David Eby has met with the family, his office says, and promised some reforms.

Speaking Wednesday, Attorney General Niki Sharma said she'd spoken to the premier afterward and the government is "committed to figuring out what we can do."

"Why should a person be entitled to drive again after that?" she said.

On Thursday, B.C. Minister of Public Safety Nina Krieger told reporters she would be meeting with the family as well, and that ministry staff are "actively investigating" ways to ensure that drivers causing harm "are held to account."

Both she and Rasul-Jankovics's family said they are looking closely at Andrew's Law, proposed legislation in Ontario that has the backing of Premier Doug Ford after a father of three, Andrew Cristillo, was killed by an alleged dangerous driver on Aug. 3.

Much like Xavier's Law, it calls for immediate driving suspensions after fatal crashes and lifetime bans for convicted dangerous drivers.

Ford met with Cristillo's family, and came out pledging reforms.

"What their family has to go through now, and the three little girls, this is going to be lifelong for them," Ford said. "I promised their family that I'm going to go through with Andrew's Law."

In B.C., no elected officials have used language as strong as Ford's.

Instead, they have expressed condolences and promised to study what they believe is feasible prior to introducing reforms.

Kyla Lee, a B.C. Lawyer who focuses on driving law, said it may be difficult for the province to enact the changes being proposed.

The issue, she said, is that it is difficult to immediately present clear evidence that someone was speeding or driving dangerously. As a result, an immediate driving suspension for anyone based on suspicion, rather than evidence, could be a violation of constitutional rights.

"Innocent people may end up losing their licences ... Until such a time that it can be determined that they didn't actually do anything wrong," Lee said.

That stands in contrast, she said, to instances where a person's licence can be quickly suspended for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, because police can easily conduct tests to prove with little doubt that they were inebriated.

"Those are relatively objective," she said.

Speeding or dangerous driving, though, is not as easily proven.

"There's a lot of investigative steps," she said, including a mechanical inspection of the vehicle, incident re-enactment, and looking for witnesses and video evidence.

She also pointed out that the province already has the power to suspend licences using a "high risk driving incident report," in which police can request a suspension for any driver who is believed to pose a risk to others, even before charges are pursued.

She said there may still be ways for the government to craft new legislation that further targets speeding or dangerous drivers, but any laws would need to be based on evidence and give the accused the opportunity to appeal their case.

Lee said she expects the province to follow up given the popularity of stricter driving rules.

Meanwhile, Rasul-Jankovics's family is still mourning and hopes some positive change can come from their tragedy.

“It's visceral," said Rasul. "We feel it every day. We go to sleep at night and we wake up and we're just back in the same nightmare every single day."

Journalist, Northern British Columbia

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