Loved ones mourn Mackenzie Mann’s loss in car crash, urge maximum sentence for driver

Years ago, during her first week of junior kindergarten, Mackenzie Mann's father followed her bus each morning, to make sure she got off the bus and walked safely into the school.

Last year, on June 3, 2020, on a hot and still evening, 20-year old Mackenzie told her father she was heading to a friend's for a bonfire, and that a guy named Typhoon was picking her up.

I questioned her about Typhoon, because he had never picked her up from our house before," said the father, Oliver Mann, who is a Hamilton police officer. I didn't know Typhoon, never had a conversation with him ... I trusted my daughter's decision. I said OK, but not to give permission; she's 20. It was: OK.' It was the last time I ever talked to Mackenzie."

Oliver Mann spoke in a Hamilton courtroom Tuesday, presenting his victim impact statement to a judge in the death of his daughter, who was a student at McMaster University.

At about 9:45 p.m. that night, Bulend (Typhoon) Dikici - 19 at the time - raced his Honda Civic through an intersection at Airport Road and Nebo Road at 141 km/h and T-boned another car.

Mackenzie Mann, buckled up in the rear passenger seat, was killed in the crash, and three others involved in the collision were injured, including two passengers and the driver of the other vehicle. Both cars appear demolished in photos taken by Niagara Regional Police.

Justice Tory Colvin must now decide the sentence for Dikici, who has plead guilty to criminal negligence causing death.

As part of that process, 18 victim impact statements will be presented in court. Six were read Tuesday, the rest will be presented in court Nov. 3.

Mackenzie's loved ones struggled through tears and choked words to describe their sense of loss, and how the crime has darkened their lives.

It was a day my life was shattered into a million pieces," said Mackenzie's mother, Jennifer Mann. If that (expletive) didn't kill my daughter, she would have done amazing things."

She said she may never be able to resume her occupation as a school teacher, and that she has been diagnosed since the crash with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

We are serving a life sentence that (Dikici) should be doing," she said. We live without Mackenzie every minute of every day, moving through life in this shell of a human body."

Luke Moore, Mackenzie's boyfriend, said: She was unique, there was no one like her, and I feel lost without her. I can't sleep and don't go to bed until four o'clock ... It haunts me every day."

Michael Mann, her uncle: She was an extraordinary young woman with limitless potential. She was the closest thing I'll ever have to a daughter of my own ... I am deeply gutted there will be no more milestones to come for her."

Cassandra Kozun, friend: I often wish I was in that car, I think about if I could have saved her, or been the one to go instead of her ... I constantly have Mackenzie's killer on my mind."

Each speaker echoed the words of assistant Crown attorney Andrew Brown, who told the judge that the crash was no accident," but rather the result of conscious choices" Dikici made; Mackenzie's mother likened it to murder."

Brown argued that while Dikici did not intend" to hurt anyone when he drove double the posted 70 km/h speed limit and applied the brake just one second prior to the intersection, the consequences were entirely foreseeable, and almost inevitable."

He said that in (Dikici's) hands" the car was a lethal weapon" and that Mackenzie was captive in the back of the vehicle and there was no way out of that situation."

He added that the judge should not think of the crash as one that could be attributed to the exuberance of youth, or teenage males doing stupid things," because all the driver had to do was listen to his passengers who were screaming at him to slow down, and that there was a stop sign ahead. These were people advocating for their lives ... Their voices were not heard, Mr. Dikici made a choice not to listen."

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to conclude in November, when Brown will ask the judge to assess a jail sentence of between six and eight years. He said that would offer a significant" deterrent to other drivers and a denunciation" of Dikici's actions.

As for Mackenzie's father, he told court that when he started to write his statement, it occurred to him that he should be thinking about one day writing a speech for her wedding day, not an account of the saddest moment of his life.

My daughter was my baby girl, my princess, my ballerina, my music maker, my big girl, and my leader," he said. She was built for this world. I have a giant hole in my heart."

Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com