Toronto man given conditional sentence for fatal hit-and-run

Sebastien Sapeta, a Toronto man who fled the scene of a collision that resulted in the death of a 29-year-old pedestrian, has been given a conditional sentence of two years less a day, two years probation and a three-and-a-half-year driving prohibition.

At a sentencing hearing Thursday, Sapeta told the court through an affidavit read out by his lawyer, Marco Forte, that he regretted leaving the scene after striking Venugnan Raveentiran around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2021, at the corner of Harbour and York streets.

The 49-year-old also asked for mercy in sentencing saying he was scared that something bad would happen to him if he went back to jail.

Sapeta, who pleaded guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an accident causing death last September, told Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts killing the 29-year-old man was one of the most shameful things he’s ever done.

“I never saw him on the road. I never meant to hurt him and I was not impaired by any drug or alcohol. I was not speeding. I just froze, I was scared and I drove away. There is no excuse to this day. I don’t know why I didn’t stop,” said Marco Forte on Sapeta’s behalf.

In the affidavit, Sapeta said he was on his way to his girlfriend’s house that morning and told the court after the collision, he drove around before he pulled over and threw up. He said he then called his girlfriend while crying and told her he thought he had killed someone and was going home.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Sapeta’s Jeep was located abandoned few blocks from the collision scene just after 4 a.m. It had front end damage and was leaking radiator fluid from the collision scene to the location where it was stopped.

Sapeta was arrested around 5:30 am as police were speaking with security at the condominium building where he lived. Sapeta walked into the lobby and was carrying a bag of personal belongings, a safe, $4500 in cash, two cell phones, passports, oxycontin and clozapine. Sapeta appeared distraught and under the influence of drugs.

He was arrested and taken back to traffic services where officers doing inventory found cocaine and oxycontin on his person. His urine tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone and oxymorphone.

After he parked his vehicle, he took a cab home and once he arrived home he “did drugs to deal with the shock of the collision”. In his affidavit, he called it a “relapse” and said he hasn’t used drugs since.

The charge of impaired driving causing death which was laid at the time of the deadly crash was withdrawn by the Crown.

Sapeta also wrote he would accept whatever sentence he was given but feared he would not be safe if he went to jail. In 2015, Sapeta said he cooperated with police and crown attorneys and testified against his co-accused in a break-and-enter case and as a result was labeled “a rat.”

“I am scared I will be targeted as a rat when I get to jail. My cooperation is on the record. My last sentence was a conditional sentence. I complied with every order. I ask for your mercy on sentencing,” Sapeta wrote.

During cross-examination with Assistant Crown Attorney Christopher Ponesse about Sapeta’s affidavit, he was asked why he didn’t turn himself in. “You had been arrested several times before but you still didn’t call police between the time of the collision and the time you were arrested,” said Ponesse.

Sapeta testified he planned to turn himself in “to face the situation in person” and said he had discussed the plan with his girlfriend.

Ponesse also questioned why Sapeta was carrying passports, thousands of dollars in cash and a safe when he was leaving his building, if he was planning to surrender.

The Crown asked for a one-year jail term, two years of probation and a five-year driving prohibition.

Justice Roberts ordered Sapeda to spend the first 12 months of the conditional sentence under house arrest followed by 12 months with a curfew.