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Crown Seeks Up to 10½ Years as Calgary Sentencing Opens in Death of 9-Year-Old

The judge will set a sentence after hearing victim statements and the defence.

There has been another delay in the sentencing for a man involved in a deadly December 2024 crash that killed a 9-year-old Calgary girl and badly injured her sister and mother.
A memorial remains at the location of a fatal collision at Southland Drive and Macleod Trail on Saturday December 28, 2024. A nine year-old girl was killed and several others injured after Duane Napoose drove at high speed through a red light at the intersection colliding with several vehicles.
Duane Nepoose is shown in this still image from video during his arrest after he crashed a stolen van and caused the crash that left nine-year-old Victoria Desjardins dead in Calgary, on Dec. 26, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Calgary court exhibit (Mandatory Credit)
A frame grab from Calgary Police body camera released as a court exhibit shows the arrest of Duane Arlen John Nepoose at the scene of a fatal crash on Dec. 26, 2024.

Overview

  • Prosecutors in Calgary, during Wednesday’s hearing, asked for a prison term of 9½ to 10½ years for Duane Nepoose.
  • Nepoose pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and related offences after a Dec. 26, 2024 crash that killed Victoria Desjardins and injured her mother, sister and another driver.
  • Court heard the stolen minivan reached about 170 km/h in police helicopter video and ran multiple red lights before the collision at Macleod Trail and Southland Drive.
  • Victim impact statements described deep grief and lasting injuries, with Victoria’s mother telling Nepoose that the crash left their once whole family broken.
  • The Crown cited a psychiatric report finding Nepoose at high risk to reoffend and requested lifetime driving and weapons bans, while defence submissions will be heard before sentencing.