'Absolute miracle' that man who lit himself on fire while high on meth survived, judge says

Jail for man who fled police, lit himself on fire From CTV Saskatoon's Francois Biber: A judge summed up the case in a few words – spectacular and extremely dangerous.

A man who led police on a dangerous pursuit through Saskatoon and then eventually set himself on fire in a rural field near Langham says he has no memory of the events as he had been high on crystal meth for seven days.

Terrence Morin, 37, received a sentence of two years less a day after a crime spree in which he stole an SUV and drove on the wrong side of the road before heading out of Saskatoon where he spilled gasoline from a jerry can, setting himself and the stolen vehicle on fire while police looked on.

Morin entered a guilty plea and avoided a trial, court documents show. Morin has been in remand since then.

In Judge Brent Klause’s June 18 sentencing decision he says the accused was “barely singed” due to the quick response by Mounties with fire extinguishers.

“It’s an absolute miracle that he did not kill himself or a member of the public during this lengthy and prolonged driving episode,” Klause said.

Klause noted many aggravating factors - while Morin has no recollection of the events, he managed to drive for around two-and-a-half hours at a time when once could reasonably expect a significant amount of traffic on the road, Klause said.

Klause said Morin operated a stolen 2006 GMC Envoy without regard to other drivers on the road and evaded several police stop strips on Highway 16 between Saskatoon and Langham. Morin also attempted to steal gas from a farmyard.

Klause also sentenced Morin to three years’ probation with several conditions: to report to a probation officer as directed; to not use alcohol or non-prescription drugs or to be any place where the primary purpose is the sale or consumptions of alcohol or drugs including marijuana; to not occupy the seat of a motor vehicle and perform 100 hours of community service within the first two years of his probation order.

The lengthy probation period is an attempt to help Morin become a law-abiding, drug-free member of society, Klause said.