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Vernon  

Hit and run driver sentenced

A young Vernon man will spend two more years behind bars after he caused a car crash that left a local nurse paralyzed from the neck down

Michael Timothy George Heeley, 22, was sentenced this week to three years in prison and a 10-year driving prohibition. 

It took three months for police to find and charge Heeley after he fled from the accident on Dec. 3, at the intersection of Alexis Park Drive and 39th Avenue.

Heeley was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, failure to stop at an accident, and attempting to obstruct justice.

Instead of disputing the allegations, Heeley eventually pleaded guilty to one of the three charges against him in April – criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

A credit of 128 days for time already served will be taken off his three-year jail term.

The accident forever changed the life of nurse, mother and wife Robin Orcherton.

Orcherton had just finished her shift on Dec. 3 and was on her way home to her family when she was struck while sitting at the red light.

The accident left her a quadriplegic, and she continues to endure month after month of difficult treatment.

The community rallied around the woman they referred to as modest, sweet and wonderful – starting an online fundraising campaign to help cover medical costs.

The GoFundMe crowdfunding project created in February raised more than $16,000.



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