SYDNEY, N.S. — A sentencing hearing begins today for a 15-year-old boy convicted of pushing a fellow student down a snowy embankment and under the wheels of a moving school bus.
The boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was convicted in October of criminal negligence causing the death.
The 18-year-old victim, Christopher Chafe, was killed instantly last February when the rear wheels of the bus ran over his head as horrified classmates looked on.
The defence argued the accused was acting like a typical boy his age and was engaged in ordinary horseplay.
But provincial court Judge Peter Ross dismissed that, saying the boy should have known his actions could have deadly consequences.
A pre-sentence report is expected to be presented along with victim impact statements.
