8 years in prison for impaired driver in crash that killed woman, hurt husband

A St. Thomas man with three past convictions for impaired driving was sentenced Monday to eight years in prison for a 2019 crash in London that killed a woman and seriously injured her husband of 49 years.

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Shawn Norris, 61, was found guilty in August of dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm in the Oct. 7, 2019, crash that killed Penny Kay, 68, and seriously injured Paul Kay, of Sparta.

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Norris was driving south on Highbury Avenue after picking up his methadone prescription when he drove across the oncoming northbound traffic lane and collided head-on with the Kays’ vehicle as he swerved onto the shoulder to try to avoid the crash.

Paul Kay watched his wife die in the passenger seat just two months before they would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. He was left with permanent injuries and has been severely traumatized by the death of his high school sweetheart, court heard.

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Norris, a father of two grown children who had been addicted to opioids for more than a decade, was “double-dosing” methadone and had four different prescription drugs in his system – multiple pill bottles were found in his car – at the time of the crash, court heard.

Monday, Superior Court Justice Patricia Moore sentenced Norris to eight years in prison and handed him a lifetime driving ban.

“Mr. Norris, the sentence I have imposed is a significant one. I hope you will continue to receive the assistance you require for your mental, medical and addiction issues while incarcerated,” she said in her decision.

The Crown had asked for a 10-year sentence, while Norris’s defense lawyer pushed for a four-year sentence, citing his client’s lasting injuries from the crash, history of addiction and brain injury from an illness in 2021.

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“It’s my hope that when you are released that you never drive a motor vehicle again and that you do what is within your power to lead a law-abiding life,” Moore said. “To the members of the family present, I appreciate that neither my words today nor the sentence I imposed bring back Penny Kay.

“The loss is very real and leaves a permanent void. I sincerely hope that you’re able to move on and heal.”

Norris nodded his head as Moore delivered her sentence and he asked to see his mother, a request that was granted, before he was taken away into custody.

Per her obituary, Penny Kay was a retired early childhood educator at Southwold public school and was a member at New Sarum Baptist Church.

The fallout from the deadly crash has rippled through the Kay family, many of whom attended Monday’s 90-minute sentencing hearing. The Kays’ grandchildren have undergone counseling and their son resigned from his teaching job of 25 years, court heard.

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Paul Kay took on a part-time sales job because he couldn’t stand spending so much time in his empty house and is still struggling with fear when an oncoming vehicle crowds the center line, court heard.

“You left me alone without my lifelong best friend and wife. There are times the emotional pain is far worse than the physical pain that’s been inflicted,” the widower said in his victim impact statement.

“The choices you made that day changed my life. They are not reversible and will continue to worsen with time.”

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