Sentencing hearing for impaired driver guilty in death of her friend

(CTV News file photo)

The family of Beulah Peters, 23, told a London, Ont. courtroom on Tuesday how much they miss their loved one since she died almost five years ago.

The victim’s mother Wendy told the court how the death has changed her life.

“I will never get that grandchild that she often talked about and wanted,” said Peters. “She was my baby girl, my rock, my sunshine.”

In December of 2018, the court heard how Peters was struck and killed along Jubilee Road in Munsee-Delaware, south of London.

In the fall, a jury found Kelly Jacobs, 35, guilty of impaired driving causing death in connection with the incident.

The court heard that the friends had been out on a so-called “booze cruise,” as they drank alcohol while driving.

In her victim impact statement, Peters’ older sister Cindy said, “She was my beautiful friend...Kelly Jacobs’ decision killed my friend.”

Meanwhile, Cindy Peters of Southwold is still waiting for her sentencing hearing after she was found guilty of impaired driving causing death last month in a similar but separate case.

The court heard that she too had been out on a “booze cruise” with a friend in March of 2020.

In regards to Jacobs, Crown Attorney Marcia Hilliard told the court that she should receive a sentence of seven years in prison. Defence lawyer Patricia Brown argued that Jacobs should be given a conditional sentence along with time at a treatment centre.

Senior Justice Bruce Thomas is expected to hand down his decision on the case on May 12.