A Calgary judge has decided to hold off on sentencing the man who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a crash on Boxing Day in 2024 that killed a nine-year-old girl. The decision means the legal reckoning in one of the city's most painful recent road deaths will stretch on, with no punishment handed down at this stage of the proceedings.
The man at the centre of the case, Duane Napousse, appeared in court on Friday. Having already entered a guilty plea to the charge of dangerous driving causing death, his appearance was not about establishing responsibility, which he has admitted, but about the consequences he should face for the collision and the life it took.
The crash that brought him before the court happened on Boxing Day in 2024. According to the account heard in court, Napousse sped through a red light in a stolen minivan in the south end of the city before ramming into a family's vehicle, an impact that proved fatal for the young girl who was inside.
The child who died was nine years old. The loss of someone so young in a sudden and violent collision has given the case a particular weight, and it formed the backdrop to the testimony that the court heard as it weighed how the man responsible should be sentenced.
During Friday's appearance, the judge heard heartbreaking testimony from the girl's father. He told the court that Napousse had taken away his beautiful little girl, a statement that laid bare the depth of the family's grief as they confronted the man who pleaded guilty to causing her death.
Despite hearing that testimony, the judge opted not to deliver a sentence on Friday, choosing instead to hold off on the decision. The deferral leaves the question of Napousse's punishment unresolved for now, with the family still waiting for the case that began on Boxing Day 2024 to reach its conclusion.