A Vancouver driver involved in a 2008 Coquitlam crash in which two young boys were killed and their brother paralyzed, has been fined $1,500.

Ryan John Stewart Miller, 31, pleaded guilty Monday to driving without due care and attention — the charge laid against him — in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court.

Under the Motor Vehicle Act, a driver found guilty of the offence could face a maximum fine of $2,000, six months in jail, or both.

On Wednesday, Miller was fined $1,500 and asked to pay a $225 victim surcharge fee, said Crown counsel spokesman Neil MacKenzie.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2008, when Miller’s BMW SUV rammed into the rear-end of an eastbound minivan stopped with hazard lights on in the HOV lane of Highway 1.

Maria Moeller had stopped the vehicle after its cab started to fill with smoke, which was visible to other vehicles in the area, RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said at the time. Miller was driving illegally in the lane when he crashed into the van, killing nine-year-old Andrew Moeller, his six-year-old brother Matthew, and paralyzing eight-year-old Karl, all were seated in the third seat of the minivan. Two adults in the van were also seriously injured.

Following the collision, the BMV spun 90 degrees and was hit by a third vehicle also travelling eastbound in the HOV lane, police said.

Shortly after Miller was charged, he left Canada for Australia, but was arrested July 1, 2011, when he returned to this country.

MacKenzie said the Crown had asked the court to consider a “brief driving prohibition” in addition to the fine, but it was not granted.

With files from Tara Carman and Canadian Press

mravindran@vancouversun.com

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