By James Peters / Jill Sperling

Father of hit-and-run victim relieved legal saga is drawing to a close

Mar 17, 2018 | 11:20 AM

KAMLOOPS — The father of the teenaged girl who was killed in a 2016 Aberdeen hit-and-run says the family is relieved to know the legal saga surrounding the crash appears to be coming to an end.

It was November 4, 2016, the eve of Jennifer Gatey’s 17th birthday when the girl was struck and killed on Pacific Way, not far from the family’s home. 

The driver fled the scene, and no arrests were made in the case until the following March when RCMP took 41-year-old Jason Gourlay into custody.

In BC Supreme Court Friday, lawyers indicated Gourlay plans to enter a guilty plea in the case.

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Cameron Gatey says that news brings his family a small sense of relief.

“We’re looking forward to closing this particular chapter in our lives because it’s been unresolved to this point. It’s complicated our grieving process a little bit so ‘glad’ may not be the right word, but we’re glad that this appears to be over at this point,” said Gatey.

“It’s important to us that we know the events that surrounded the death of our daughter and that it’s not just a mystery that remains unresolved. That’s part of closing the chapter, to know that the individual is known to the rest of the community.”

The grieving father has followed Gourlay’s court proceedings from afar, not wanting to let the process consume his life.

“We want to move on. We all miss Jennifer terribly and we’ve come to realize that that’s never going to go away. The court process, it clutters up our lives to some extent.”

After a guilty plea is entered, the court will proceed to the sentencing stage.

Gatey says he doesn’t have any specific hopes for the sentence imposed by Justice Dev Dley.

“It may strike people as odd, but we’re not motivated by revenge or punishment or anything like that,” he said. “Our greatest motivation has been that justice has been done and been seen to be done. We have confidence in the court system, that it will do what it thinks is appropriate. We’re prepared to accept [the sentence], whatever it is. It doesn’t really matter to us in the grand scheme of things.”

As Gatey and his family navigate life without Jennifer they gain strength from the outpouring of support from friends, family, and the Kamloops community. 

“I appreciate all of the things that so many people here in Kamloops have done for us – the kindness that people have shown us,” Gatey said. “We are grateful and I can’t even begin to name all of the people who have helped create the legacy for Jennifer with the scholarship at TRU, and the benches and other things that have been done. We’re very grateful for such a kind community for supporting us.”