Suspended driver who caused deadly Toronto crash on Parkside Drive found guilty

Artur Kotula, the suspended operator who drove astatine dangerously precocious speeds down Toronto’s Parkside Drive 3 years ago, sidesplitting a mates aft rear-ending their car, has been recovered blameworthy connected 2 counts of unsafe driving causing decease and 2 counts of unsafe driving causing bodily harm.

Superior Court Justice Sukhail Akhtar, who presided implicit the judge-alone proceedings past month, rejected Kotula’s grounds that helium blacked retired astatine the clip of the crash, calling him an “unreliable historian.”

Akhtar said Kotula’s grounds was contradictory and inconsistent and recovered helium was conscious astatine the clip of the collision.

Akhtar accepted the grounds of 1 witnesser who testified that Kotula swerved crossed the centre enactment into oncoming postulation earlier correcting himself and continuing successful southbound postulation and witnesses who saw him aft the crash.

“Although Kotula stated helium blacked out, witnesses and video grounds amusement the opposite. He appeared confused but alert and alert of his surroundings,” Akhtar said.

It was an admitted information that Kotula, who was 38 years aged astatine the time, was driving a BMW southbound connected Parkside Drive connected the day of Oct. 12, 2021 erstwhile helium approached the intersection of Spring Road and collided with a Toyota Matrix that was sitting astatine the intersection arsenic postulation had travel to a stop.

The interaction caused a concatenation absorption involving 3 different vehicles. Kotula’s car past mounted the curb and struck a hydro pole.

Valdemar Avila, 71, was driving the Toyota Matrix. His woman Fatima Avila, 69, was successful the rider seat. Valdemar was pronounced dormant astatine the country and Fatima was rushed to hospital, wherever she was pronounced dead.

Two occupants successful a Honda CRV successful beforehand of the Toyota were besides injured.

A collision reconstructionist testified astatine proceedings that Kotula was travelling astatine 107 km/h 5 seconds earlier the collision and accelerated to 124 km/hour two-and-a-half seconds earlier impact.

The BMW past decelerated to 101 km/h 1.5 seconds earlier interaction but the brake was lone depressed for fractional a 2nd earlier the car began to accelerate again. The reconstructionist surmised that the BMW was travelling astatine betwixt 101 and 117 km/h astatine the clip of interaction with the Toyota.

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The velocity bounds connected Parkside Drive astatine the clip was 50 km/h.

The justice besides rejected the grounds of Dr. Bernd Pohlmann-Eden, a witnesser for the defence. The neurologist testified that Kotula had apt suffered a seizure portion driving. The justice said successful handing down his verdict that Pohlmann-Eden was not an impartial witnesser and “set retired to springiness an sentiment that would beryllium favourable to Mr. Kotula.”

At trial, Kotula testified helium did not retrieve being told by Dr. John Sallazzo, an exigency country doc astatine St. Joseph’s hospital, conscionable 3 days earlier the collision that helium was losing his driver’s licence owed to intoxicant substance maltreatment disorder. Sallazzo testified helium told Kotula not to thrust and was advising the Ministry of Transportation.

Kotula had a past of seizures. In February 2020, helium suffered a seizure astatine a hardware store. His licence was suspended connected March 12, 2020 aft it was determined the seizure was owed to withdrawal from alcohol. The licence was reinstated connected Jan. 15, 2021.

Akhtar said helium recovered Kotula was not being truthful astir having nary representation of his treatment with Sallazzo and knew helium had a information that affected his driving.

“I find helium was afloat alert of this proposal erstwhile helium got down the instrumentality connected October 12, 2021. Even if I recovered helium suffered a seizure, I would inactive find helium drove successful a mode of a marked departure,” Akhtar said.

Akhtar recovered that Kotula ignored the doctor’s proposal and chose to thrust anyway.

A sentencing proceeding has been scheduled for mid-January.