A Vancouver Island father has been sentenced to six years in prison for causing the death of his seven-year-old son while driving drunk.

Matthew Gilbert Darlington, 49, pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death and was sentenced in state court.

On September 6, 2021, Darlington returned to the Island by ferry from Vancouver. In the evenings he took methamphetamine and smoked marijuana.

The next morning, Darlington was driving his wife and three children near Sooke when he left the highway and crashed the car into a roadside tree.

His wife and children aged 7, 8 and 10 were also injured in the accident. His youngest child died in the hospital a few hours after the accident.

Darlington said he did not remember the accident.

Before the crash, he had been convicted eight times of driving while prohibited and was convicted again in 2022. He was banned from driving following the crash that killed his son and was found driving eight months later.

“It is worth noting that the tragic accident on September 7, 2021 did not prevent him from driving in violation of the prohibition,” Judge Ted Gouge wrote in his decision.

Darlington also has a criminal record with convictions for violent crimes and threats of violence.

In his statement to the court during the sentencing hearing, he talked about the importance of his relationships with his two surviving children and his determination to be a good parent.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development reported that it has taken positive steps with their help to repair and improve relationships with their children.

He is now divorced from his mother, who does not want to communicate with him.

The Crown sought a five-to-six-year prison sentence with a 15-year driving ban, while Darlington’s defense lawyer recommended a conditional sentence of less than two years a day.

In his decision, Gouge stated that both proposals were insufficient and that eight years would be more appropriate. The maximum penalty for driving causing death is life imprisonment.

“Mr. Darlington poses a serious threat to public safety. His failure to comply with past driving bans indicates that he will likely continue driving no matter what orders I give. His long and serious driving history shows that he constantly puts others at risk while driving. As a result, the only way I can protect the public from him is to order his imprisonment,” Gouge wrote.

He said he was aware of Darlington’s children’s needs and desire to parent them, but was not satisfied that Darlington was a good role model.

“In short, for many years he was a man who refused to obey the law. I do not believe that any contribution he can make to the upbringing of his children will outweigh the need to protect the public, including his children, from the risk he poses to public safety if he is not in custody,” Gouge wrote.

Gouge said Darlington should never drive again and banned him from driving for 35 years.

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