Mike on Crime

By Mike McIntyre
Winnipeg Free Press

It’s the rarest kind of appeal — both the Crown and defence feel the judge did them wrong.

But that’s exactly what played out Friday as both sides of a tragic case made their pitches to Manitoba’s highest court.

Cory McCaughan, 43, was convicted last year of dangerous driving causing death for running over and killing his girlfriend with a semi-trailer following a heated argument.

The Crown is now appealing the fact he was acquitted of a more serious charge of criminal negligence causing death. And they claim McCaughan’s sentence — a two-year-less-a-day conditional penalty which allows him to remain free in the community — is far too lenient.

McCaughan is rejecting the Crown’s arguments and claiming he should have been found not guilty of all charges. He says the woman’s death was a tragic accident, not a criminal offence.

The high court has reserved its verdict.

Christine Bruinson Dourma, 38, suffered massive head trauma during the July 2004 tragedy near Anola, about 30 kilometres east of Winnipeg. She died after hopping onto the side of the moving tractor-trailer, apparently in an attempt to get McCaughan to continue talking with her.

McCaughan told police he saw the woman dangling from the side of the vehicle, but kept driving until she disappeared from sight and fell under his wheels. Witnesses told court an enraged McCaughan emerged from his rig and began screaming at the obviously dead Dourma.

The victim’s father, Charles Bruinson, said McCaughan called his nearby home moments later. McCaughan spoke with Dourma’s 10-year-old daughter, telling her he’d just “run over your mom.”

Bruinson and the girl rushed to the scene to find Dourma dead on the ground.

At trial, Queen’s Bench Justice Daniel Kennedy ruled that McCaughan showed a “gross departure” from the expected standard of care while driving. But he acquitted McCaughan of criminal negligence, saying he believes the case involved a “momentary lapse” of judgment.

The Crown had been seeking up to four years custody for McCaughan, citing the disturbing facts of the killing and his violent criminal past.