Semi driver sentenced after barrelling head-on into motorcycle convoy
Families of the Red Rum motorcycle group attended the High Prairie courthouse Tuesday looking for substantial jail time for a semi-truck driver who forever altered their lives.
A semi-truck driver, Michael Maurice Koochin, 40, was sentenced to two and a half years in custody after swerving into the centre line and colliding head-on with a convoy of motorcycles on Highway 2 near Sucker Creek First Nation in August 2024. The crash resulted in the deaths of Laurent Isadore, 38, and Tyler Duboski, 33, with six others sustaining severe injuries.
Koochin was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death and pleaded guilty, sparing the court a trial. The families of the deceased, including Isadore's sister, Tina Isadore, expressed their disappointment with the sentence, stating it was on the low end of the range for such charges. The Crown prosecutor was replaced last month due to a medical emergency, and the judge cited mitigating factors, such as Koochin's commercial driving license and his guilty plea.
The sentence also included financial penalties for traffic safety violations, and Koochin will be banned from driving for seven years upon his release.
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