Richard Benson, the driver behind the Racette school crash, is back in bars in connection with a six-car collision that took place in Edmonton in 2011.
Benson had just been released from prison this month over his role in the Racette crash, according to news reports. However, last Friday, he was sentenced to four and a half months in jail for dangerous driving.
Court heard that on April 19, 2011, Benson had been returning to St. Paul after taking his mother to a hospital appointment. He sped to beat a yellow light, swerved around a vehicle and smashed his minivan into the rear of a taxi stopped at a red light at the next intersection, causing a chain-reaction of collisions.
He had been awaiting trial on the charge of dangerous driving in Edmonton, when on Oct. 25, 2012, he suffered a seizure while driving. Benson had been having seizures for about a decade but did not take his medication regularly to prevent attacks. He had lied on his driver’s licence application when he said he did not have any medical conditions that affected his ability to drive.
In the midst of the seizure, he crashed his van into Racette, pinning three students under the wreckage. Eleven-year-old Megan Wolitski passed away from her injuries, while two of her classmates were seriously injured.
In that case, Benson pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. He was sentenced to two years in prison, less a day, as well as a lifetime driving ban, last November.
