Driver behind fatal 2017 Coquihalla crash that killed UBCO student receives $1,500 fine

A man who crashed into a car on the Coquihalla Highway, causing the death of a 21-year-old university student, has been sentenced.

George Holowko has been given a $1,500 fine after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention.

In April 2017 he was driving his son and his girlfriend to a hockey game in Kamloops.

WATCH: (Aired. Nov. 20, 2017) Grieving father of UBCO student killed in car crash speaks out against dangerous driving

2:06 Grieving father of UBCO student killed in car crash speaks out against dangerous driving

Amid wintry conditions, Holowko crashed into a car that had veered off the road onto the median. The driver of that car, Melissa Mimura, a Japanese student at UBC’s Okanagan campus, was standing in front of her vehicle and killed by the impact.

The judge who sentenced Holowko to the fine called it a case of simple negligence — a mistake that has caused much suffering.

Speaking from Japan, Mimura’s father says the fine isn’t enough and in his country, Holowko would have faced jail time.