A man who rammed his car into someone鈥檚 truck during a road rage incident has received an eight month conditional sentence order (CSO) that includes a one-year driving prohibition and a curfew.
Jordan Jansen was at the Chilliwack Law Courts Wednesday (Jan. 18) to hear the verdict from Judge Kristen Mundstock. The 24-year-old who lives in 91原创 pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a conveyance (motor vehicle) dating back to Sept. 18, 2021.
On that day, the driver of a Ford truck hit Jansen鈥檚 Volkswagen Jetta as he was backing out of a driveway, and carried on without stopping. Speaking through his lawyer, Jansen told Mundstock he should have taken pictures of the damage, paid the $300 insurance deductible to get it fixed and left it at that. Instead, he got in his car and chased the truck down South Sumas Road. He swerved toward the truck, causing it to veer into a ditch, and as the driver of the truck tried to get it back on the road, Jansen drove into it, t-boning the driver side door.
The driver of the truck and a passenger got out and ran away. Jansen got out of his car and ran after them. Both sides called 911 and Jansen could be heard yelling at his quarry even as he spoke to the emergency dispatcher.
Mundstock described the incident as 鈥渢raumatic鈥� for the victims, and said they were fortunate to not be hurt when Jansen鈥檚 car struck theirs.
鈥淏oth of the complainants fled their vehicle on foot after Mr. Jansen struck them because they believed Mr. Jansen was going to kill them,鈥� she noted. 鈥淭hese two individuals were strangers to Mr. Jansen and I could only gather from the circumstances that the two complainants were rather surprised with Mr. Jansen鈥檚 conduct and his reaction to the circumstances.鈥�
Jansen, who will be serving his sentence at his mother鈥檚 home in 91原创, pleaded guilty to the dangerous operation charge shortly before a trial was scheduled to start. Mundstock took that as a sign of accepting responsibility, and she also saw a letter from Jansen鈥檚 foreman at Jake鈥檚 Construction. Jansen is employed as a heavy equipment operator with the company, and the foreman described him as a vital asset to the Jake鈥檚 team, a man with great teamwork skills who gets along with everyone he works with.
Jansen鈥檚 mother told the court he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when he was three and suggested trouble controlling emotions and impulses played a role in the road rage. Mundstock didn鈥檛 accept that as a mitigating factor, saying she had no evidence to support what the mother said. But she included counselling as one of the CSO conditions and noted a string of recent court appearances by Jansen related to anger control.
鈥淲hen people can鈥檛 control an emotion, it鈥檚 very common that people will get help for that,鈥� Mundstock told Jansen. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l seek therapy and assistance to help them cope with that emotion. You haven鈥檛 done that for your anger and because you haven鈥檛 done that you鈥檙e continuing to come before the court.
鈥淚f that is the source of what鈥檚 bringing you before the court, it鈥檚 incumbent upon you to address it. If you can learn to control your anger, you can lead a pro-social life, which means we don鈥檛 ever have to see you again.鈥�
One year of probation will follow Jansen鈥檚 CSO.
eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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