Young woman sues after violent collision left her badly injured
After a young woman was injured in a car accident in 2013 when another vehicle, travelling at more than 130 km/h, rear-ended her in Whitehorse, she is suing the driver.
After a young woman was injured in a car accident in 2013 when another vehicle, travelling at more than 130 km/h, rear-ended her in Whitehorse, she is suing the driver.
The 17-year-old, who was 16 at the time of the accident, is suing the driver, Teri Schinkel.
The Carcross woman was convicted on Aug. 14, 2014 in territorial court of impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and failing to provide a breath sample.
Because of her age, the Star is not identifying the young woman who is suing.
Because she is a minor, her father is suing on her behalf.
On the night of Feb. 22, 2014, Schinkel struck the woman’s car at a speed of between 130 and 140 km/h, pushing it across a median and over the bank.
She suffered “scalp laceration, concussion, traumatic brain injury, (and) soft injuries to her neck,” according to the statement of claim filed on Sept. 3.
“The injuries, loss, and damage have caused and continue to cause the Plaintiff pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent physical disability, and loss of earnings, past and prospective,” the statement reads.
Territorial deputy judge Dennis Schmidt sentenced Schinkel to 60 days in custody, a one-year driving prohibition and two years’ probation.
“The circumstances of the offence are rather egregious,” noted the judge at the time.
On the day of the accident, Schinkel had left a party, intoxicated, to give back a coat belonging to her ex-boyfriend.
He had just assaulted her and had left the party.
Three people who crossed Schinkel’s path while she was driving called 911 after seeing her swerve violently.
“She was all over the road,” noted the judge, citing the fact she was driving in the wrong lane, with a flat tire, at more than 130km/h and had zoomed through stop signs.
Schinkel eventually found her ex-boyfriend, who got in her car and assaulted her again before leaving.
The young woman was “injured fairly badly,” the judge said.
Schinkel’s vehicle had to be cut open so paramedics could extract her.
When paramedics arrived on the scene, Schinkel became “difficult to deal with,” he added.
She was thrashing and kicking around, and once at Whitehorse General Hospital, had to be restrained. All of this occurred within the young woman’s earshot, the judge noted.
“The accused presented herself as the victim in all of this to all and sundry,” the judge said.
“It must have been difficult for the injured person, who was just minding her own business and trying to go home, to hear the accused carry on as if she was being badly treated or wrongly accused.”
The young woman suffered a scalp laceration that required 15 stitches and a concussion which caused ongoing headaches, Crown prosecutor David Jardine told the court at the time.
“Lights and sounds were unbearable,” the young woman said at the time in a victim impact statement read by Jardine.
Comments (10)
Up 8 Down 45
Ban 56 on Sep 29, 2015 at 3:02 pm
@56 I will not engage you, it is obvious from your many posts that you lack the depth to productively discuss this very challenging issue. OK I will try, just for a second put yourself in this person's shoes and think about trying to do well in life when every system it set up for wasps and no one else, just try it for a second.
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yukon56 on Sep 29, 2015 at 12:23 pm
Ban the troll, WASP's go to jail. No Gladue, no circle sentencing, no preferential treatment. 3rd generation school survivor, what a crock. Time for all to be accountable for their actions regardless of race. Equal justice for all
Up 11 Down 53
Ban the troll on Sep 28, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Good for you Samantha, being a true friend and sticking up for someone who has admitted to making a very big mistake. Course the trolls that lurk in the internet bushes have never done a thing wrong, they wait in the bushes until a minority (especially FNs) have done something wrong and they are all over it. Yet, if a wasp does something wrong and you don't see any of them on the story.
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really? on Sep 28, 2015 at 4:08 pm
Samantha - this is a small town. Everyone knows everyone here. You might want to speak with her first before you make claims such as "she does not drink anymore."
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Samantha on Sep 27, 2015 at 5:47 pm
People are so quick to judge do you guys personally know Terri ? How can you say anything about her because someone does one thing wrong in their life. She has to pay for the rest of her life. She has a young son, she is going to school, she does not drink anymore. Maybe you should learn the facts before you start judging by what the papers say. They only look for a story to tell all you nosy people and yes we all feel for the girl that got hurt and her family but think about Terri and her family too. It's not like she was looking for trouble that night, she just made some bad decisions while intoxicated. I hate how people act like they have never done something wrong and are so quick to judge... The whole experience has changed her life too and she has to deal with what that night has done to her life every single day !!
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Groucho d'North on Sep 27, 2015 at 10:02 am
I say again, our courts must be held accountable for their errors in judgement. For whatever reason they consider, putting violators back on the streets where they can and probably will do more harm to the community and its people is not acceptable. They are in their places to interpret and dispense penalties for breaking the law, not to be social architects trying something new and innovative.
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Groucho d' North on Sep 26, 2015 at 6:20 pm
I would like to hear the comments from all of the candidates in the federal election on this matter. And their vision to achieve a more just society. The Gladue process does not work and is putting our communities at risk. How about some straight talk about dealing with these problems? Who wants to go first?
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yukon56 on Sep 26, 2015 at 12:36 am
In sentencing a woman for impaired and dangerous driving, a visiting territorial court judge elaborated on his experience with aboriginal offenders and his preference for alternative punishments to jail time.
Judge Dennis Schmidt ordered Teri Lynn Schinkel serve a 60-day intermittent sentence, plus two years of probation, for an incident earlier this year during which she drove drunk around Whitehorse and struck another car, injuring its passenger.
The reason for the intermittency is so Schinkel, a third-generation residential school survivor, can continue with rehabilitation and caring for her child, Schmidt said in his Aug. 14 decision
Our garbage justice system strikes again, Did no one think no one would remember? Good luck collecting any compensation but wish you all the best
Up 66 Down 10
June Jackson on Sep 25, 2015 at 10:58 pm
I am very sorry for the "young woman". But, you will never see justice in Canada. The law is tailored to the offender, victims rarely if ever have any rights.
As for Shinkel, she will be back on the road, doing what she has always done until fate steps in and stops her.
Good luck in your case, but even if you win it is unlikely Shinkel has anything to give.
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JC on Sep 25, 2015 at 10:12 pm
60 days for such a horrible accident. And I guess we know why. I really believe our new age judges have lost all sense of reality.