A man from Burlington, have. was sentenced at six and a half in prison.
Artur Kotula also received a 15 -year driving ban by judge of the Superior Court Suhail Akhtar on Friday after being found guilty last November for two dangerous driving leaders causing death and two dangerous driving leaders causing bodily injury.
“What you have done, it has life consequences for members of these families. I don’t know what happens to you after the sentence, but you should reflect your actions for a long time,” Akhtar told Kotula in a Toronto city center court on Friday.
“These people will never recover their loved ones. Just think about this and take measures to remedy all the causes you think you have led to your actions. ”
The fatal crash of October 12, 2021 was a “stupidity crime,” added Akhtar, saying that Kotula’s conduct had not only taken into account the conditions that day, but his own medical conditions.
The accident occurred on Parkside Drive near High Park. It was a fact admitted that Kotula, who was 38 years old at the time, led a BMW to the southern direction on Parkside when he approached the intersection at Spring Road and collided with a Toyota matrix.
This matrix, occupied by Valdemar Avila, 71, and his 69 -year -old wife, Fatima, were seated at the intersection since traffic had stopped.
It was on the back and the impact caused a chain reaction involving three other vehicles. Kotula’s car would eventually mount a sidewalk and hit a hydroelectric post.
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Valdemar, who was driving the matrix, died on the scene. Fatima, a passenger, was transported urgently to the hospital where she died later. Two occupants of a Honda CRV who were in front of the Avilas vehicle were also injured.
A collision reconstructionist testified at trial, Kotula moved to 107 km / h five seconds before the collision and accelerated at 124 km / h two and a half before the impact.
The BMW then deceived at 101 km / h 1.5 second before the impact, but the brake was only depressed for half a second before the car starts to accelerate. The reconstructionist said that the BMW was traveling between 101 and 117 km / h at the time of the impact with the Toyota.
The speed limit on Parkside training at the time was 50 km / h.
Akhtar, who chaired the trial for judge-alone last fall, Rejected Kotula’s testimony That he passed out at the time of the accident, calling him “unreliable historian”.
“Although Kotula said he had passed out, witnesses and video evidence showed the opposite. He seemed confused but alert and aware of his environment,” said Akhtar.
At the trial, Kotula said that he did not remember Dr. John Sallazzo, an emergency doctor at St. Joseph hospital, three days before the accident he lost his driving license due to a drug addiction disorder.
Sallazzo said he told Kotula not to drive and advised the Ministry of Transport. Akhtar found that Kotula had ignored the doctor’s advice and chose to drive anyway.
Kotula had a story of crises. In February 2020, he suffered a crisis in a hardware store. His license was suspended on March 12, 2020, after being determined that the seizure should be withdrawn from alcohol. The license was restored on January 15, 2021.
Akhtar rejected the testimony of Dr. Bernd Pohlmann-Eden, a defense witness, who testified Kotula had probably undergone a crisis by driving. The judge said Pohlmann-Eden was not a impartial witness and “decided to give an opinion that would be favorable to Mr. Kotula”.
“I find that he was fully aware of this council when he took the wheel on October 12, 2021. Even if I noticed that he had suffered a crisis, I would always find that he was driving in a marked way of departure,” said Akhtar in November.
Deputy Prosecutors of the Crown Marnie Goldenberg and Ana Serban proposed that an appropriate sentence would be 10 years simultaneously for the two dangerous leaders of driving causing death, while defense lawyer Justin Marchand pleaded for 54 to 60 months.
“I am not convinced that a 10 -year sentence is appropriate in this case. He was not intoxicated or previous criminal record,” said Akhar.
On the two convictions for dangerous driving causing bodily injury, Kotula was sentenced to a four -year sentence at the same time as the sentence of six and a half for the number of dangerous drivers causing death.
Kotula has been in detention since his arrest after 1.5 credit for each day served in police custody; He received 1,839 days of credit. The court learned that he had 533 days left to serve in detention.
The court heard that Kotula had immigrated to Canada from Poland in 2008 on a work permit and is not a permanent resident.
He was detained on an immigration and will face expulsion at the end of his childcare.
Avila’s daughter spoke to Global News by phone after the court on Friday.
“It is not enough. To think that he will spend an additional 1.5 years in prison for having killed two people and destroyed my life, the life of my children, the life of my husband and all those who care and love my parents and their business, “said Ashley Avila.
She added: “I am relieved that it is finished but disappointed with the sentence. We wanted what the crown asked, but even ten years is not enough for two lives. ”
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