Semi driver sentenced after barrelling head-on into motorcycle convoy
The families of Laurent Isador and Tyler Duboski and other Red Rum motorcycle group riders came to the High Prairie courthouse Tuesday looking for substantial jail time for a semi-truck driver who forever altered their lives.
Michael Maurice Koochin, 40, was behind the wheel on Highway 2 near Sucker Creek First Nation nearly two years ago when he crossed the centre line and plowed into the motorcycle convoy on a charity ride .
Isador, 38, from the Driftpile First Nation, and Duboski, 33, from Edmonton, died in the August 2024 crash, and six others were injured — some so severely they still cannot work to this day.
In a joint submission by the Crown and defence, Koochin was sentenced to two and a half years in custody.
“My number was life. But I was hoping for five years,” explained Stacey Sorokowski.
Clemente spoke to Global News about struggling after the crash, saying he wasn’t the man he was before.
He died in December 2025 — and his family and friends attribute his untimely death to stress, PTSD and survivor’s guilt from the crash: Duboski was his best friend.
“It wouldn’t have brought Cody or Tyler or Laurent back, but I was really hoping they would see that their lives mattered.”
She wasn’t alone. When the Crown told attendees in the packed room that the sentence had been agreed on back in April, cries of: “What?” and “That’s all?” rang out.
Duboski’s mom yelled, “For my son’s life?” and was escorted out of the courtroom by family.
Outside the courthouse, she said she was at a loss for words and couldn’t fathom how they reached the sentence.
“We’ve got our other boys here that are injured. Mentally, physically, PTSD, their families are injured … and it’s all a slap in the face, what they’ve done.”
Repeatedly, the court heard the Crown, judge and even the defence state that the sentence was on the low end of the range for dangerous driving causing death charges.
Isador’s sister, Tina Isador, asked the Crown if the families had been consulted at all before the plea deal was reached. She was told no.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on globalnews.ca — the content belongs to Global News.
