SHUBENACADIE, N.S. — The Globe and Mail reports that a 14-year-old Stewiacke, N.S., boy who derailed a Via train seriously injuring 23 passengers, five of whom are now disabled, will have to face some of his victims before he is sentenced.
The pale, slightly built youth, who cannot be identified, was barely audible in Youth Court yesterday as he pleaded guilty to mischief endangering the lives of the more than 120 passengers and crew and dozens of people in the path of the train.
Crown prosecutor Bob Hagell said the boy was seen with a hammer at a railway switch near Stewiacke moments before the northbound 14-car passenger train headed for Montreal was sent hurtling onto a siding and crashed into a farm-supply store.
Other witnesses said the boy was involved in breaking the lock, thus forcing several train cars onto the seldom-used siding.
Mr. Hagell said it is a miracle that no one was killed in the derailment. But 23 people were seriously injured and five of them are disabled.
“For people who used to be able to walk and now can’t this is a major hurdle that they have for the rest of their life,” he said.
The RCMP initially recommended the restorative justice forum in which the boy will face some of the victims. They are hoping that he will explain what he did to the switch, which was found badly damaged after the derailment, and why he did it.
Restorative justice forums, which are becoming increasingly popular in young offenders cases across the country, invite the victims of the crime to discuss the crime and its aftermath with the convicted person. The forum makes a recommendation to the presiding judge who considers it before passing sentence. Paul Poirier, a Halifax man who was in the dining car of the Via train with his wife when the derailment occurred, is anxious to attend the session with the boy, whom he saw for the first time yesterday. He attended the court hearing to get a look at the boy who caused the pain and suffering.
Mr. Poirier said his wife lost teeth in the accident and is still undergoing surgery for her injuries.
He insisted he isn’t bitter about the derailment, even though he thinks about it almost every day.
“It [the court hearing] brought back a lot of emotions from the day of the accident seeing him but I’m glad I came out to have a look,” he said. “It’s just one of those things. We were just unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The boy has not admitted to police that he tampered with the switch. But Mr. Hagell told the court that the night after the derailment, he left a telephone message for his father in British Columbia saying he had switched the train off the track and more than 20 people were hurt.
In court yesterday, the youth was hugged by his mother as Judge Corrine Sparks ordered him to participate in the restorative justice process before sentencing on June 12.
That sentence could range from time in custody to community service. The boy originally pleaded not guilty to mischief endangering life and to another charge of criminal negligence. The criminal negligence charge was dropped yesterday.
His lawyer, Anne Malick, said the restorative justice process would help the boy, a special education student in junior high school, deal with his actions in a less formal setting than a court.
“He is reachable and he accepts responsibility. It will be so much more effective when he is sitting down in a community setting.”