Achi news desk-
The family of Jim Lynne is speaking out for the first time since his death in a Wasaga Beach crash two years ago as the man accused of driving drunk that night prepares to go to court.
Lynne’s loved ones continue to mourn their loss, including his stepdaughter Osean Gravel.
“[He] took a part of me and a part of my heart and I’ll never get that back,” he said.
“He used to call me princess, and knowing that I can’t hear him call me princess anymore, I’m heartbroken. I feel like I’ve lost a big part of my world,” added lis- granddaughter Lynne Haven Gravel.
Lynne died along Mosley Street on the night of April 9, 2022, following an accident with an alleged speeding and drunk driver.
His family said Lynne was delivering food in town when the vehicle she was driving was hit so hard that it rolled twice and landed upside down on its roof.
He was 62 years old.
“To die the way he did was devastating. Because he was always a safe place, the safe driver. He made sure everyone was safe,” said Osean.
The man who has been charged with dangerous and impaired driving causing death is 46-year-old Jefferson Dance. His lawyer previously told CTV News that his client remains innocent and looks forward to standing trial.
Lynne’s family is hoping for justice.
“We hope, in the long run, that justice will be served, and my family will have closure. We will never have complete closure, but we will have some form of closure with this,” he noted. Osean.
Lynne married Osean’s mother in 2015. Despite his wife’s death in 2020, Lynne, who had no children of her own, remained a devoted part of the Gravel family.
“He was amazing to my mother and us, and he treated everyone with the utmost respect, and he was very well respected by the community,” said Osean. “We love him and miss him very much every day.”
The 14-day jury trial is due to start next year.
The allegations against Dance have not been proven in court.
