Dad sentenced 7 years for crash that killed sons, girlfriend

The man who killed two of his sons and his girlfriend in a crash near Langham in February 2016 has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Robert Major was found guilty Thursday night of three counts each of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

Major was driving his Dodge Ram pickup truck with his three sons — aged four, five and nine — along with his 11-year-old nephew, Major’s girlfriend and another friend on Feb. 22, 2016.

None were wearing seatbelts when Major sped off Range Road 3083 onto Highway 16, colliding with a semi.

Major’s girlfriend, 26-year-old Kimberly Oliverio, was killed along with his sons Brenden Major, 4, and Theodore Cardinal, 9.

His nephew, five-year-old son and friend were seriously injured.

Major told the court during his own testimony that he was searching for the stop sign marking the intersection, but it had been knocked down.

The court heard seven victim impact statements from family, friends and an RCMP officer who responded to the crash.

Amanda Cardinal, Major’s ex-wife and mother of their children, said Theodore was her “little superstar” and recalled enjoyable fishing and camping trips with all of her sons together.

When she woke up the morning of the crash, she felt that something was wrong. She went on Facebook and saw there had been a fatal crash nearby, and called the hospital and asked if Major was there.

She then rushed to the hospital where she saw her surviving son in a hospital bed, saying it “dropped me to my knees.”

Then she was told her other two boys were dead and was asked if she wanted to see them.

Cardinal said she refused.

“Because I knew they wouldn’t be hugging me back,” she wrote in her victim impact statement.

“How could a mother ever get over something like this? How can a mother forgive a man she once loved? … never.”

Major’s seven-year sentence includes concurrent prison terms for each count of criminal negligence causing death, and concurrent three-year terms for each count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

He also surrendered his driver’s licence during the hearing and will be subject to an eight-year driving ban once he’s released from custody.

Driving record after crash ‘disgusting’: Crown

Court heard Major had a long history of driving offences, both before and after the 2016 crash.

Before the collision, he had been convicted of speeding three times, using a cellphone twice, once for not wearing a seatbelt and once for not remaining at the scene of a crash.

He was also found 100 per cent at fault for two other collisions.

But “most revolting” in Crown prosecutor Michael Pilon’s eyes, was that Major received two speeding tickets and two distracted driving tickets after the crash that killed his girlfriend and sons — the first speeding offence just three weeks later.

“It’s disgusting,” Pilon said outside the courthouse after the hearing.

“I don’t think there’s a better way to say it, the fact that this experience wasn’t enough to teach him to change his ways.”

The crown prosecutor also made his case to the presiding judge that Major’s refusal to take responsibility for the crash and enter a guilty plea, in addition to his continued driving offences, prove he hasn’t received the “wake up call” he needs.

Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said while he respects the jury’s verdict, there were some points in the six-day trial that could lead to an appeal by his client.

He added there is more punishment for Major outside of his prison sentence.

“What he saw sitting in the car with his children while they died, I can’t imagine living with that,” Pfefferle said.

Major has separately filed a civil lawsuit against the province over the missing stop sign at the intersection where the crash occurred.

—With files from Global Saskatoon’s Ryan Kessler