Matthew Darlington, 49, has been sentenced to six years in prison following a tragic 2021 collision in Sooke, on Vancouver Island, that claimed the life of a 7-year-old child and injured four others. Darlington, who pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death, was sentenced on Tuesday, and also received a 35-year driving prohibition.The collision occurred on September 7, 2021, when Sooke RCMP responded to reports of a single-vehicle crash around 2 a.m. Emergency crews arrived on the scene in the 5800 block of Sooke Rd., where they found a black Chevrolet Cavalier had struck a concrete curb and then collided with a tree. The crash resulted in the death of a young child and sent four others to the hospital with serious injuries.An investigation later revealed Darlington had methamphetamine in his blood at the time of the crash. Under Section 320.14 of the Criminal Code, Darlington was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired by a drug, resulting in death. He entered his guilty plea on October 24.In addition to his prison sentence, Darlington was ordered to provide a DNA sample as part of his sentencing.
