Artur Kotula, the suspended driver who drove at dangerously high speeds down Toronto’s Parkside Drive three years ago, killing a couple after rear-ending their car, has been found guilty on two counts of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
Superior Court Justice Suhail Akhtar, who presided over the judge-alone trial last month, rejected Kotula’s testimony that he blacked out at the time of the crash, calling him an “unreliable historian.”
Akhtar said Kotula’s evidence was contradictory and inconsistent and found he was conscious at the time of the collision.
Akhtar accepted the evidence of one witness who testified that Kotula swerved across the centre line into oncoming traffic before correcting himself and continuing in southbound traffic and witnesses who saw him after the crash.
“Although Kotula stated he blacked out, witnesses and video evidence show the opposite. He appeared confused but alert and aware of his surroundings,” Akhtar said.
It was an admitted fact that Kotula, who was 38 years old at the time, was driving a BMW southbound on Parkside Drive on the afternoon of Oct. 12, 2021 when he approached the intersection of Spring Road and collided with a Toyota Matrix that was sitting at the intersection as traffic had come to a stop.
The impact caused a chain reaction involving three other vehicles. Kotula’s car then mounted the curb and struck a hydro pole.
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Valdemar Avila, 71, was driving the Toyota Matrix. His wife Fatima Avila, 69, was in the passenger seat. Valdemar was pronounced dead at the scene and Fatima was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Two occupants in a Honda CRV in front of the Toyota were also injured.
A collision reconstructionist testified at trial that Kotula was travelling at 107 km/h five seconds before the collision and accelerated to 124 km/hour two-and-a-half seconds before impact.
The BMW then decelerated to 101 km/h 1.5 seconds before impact but the brake was only depressed for half a second before the car began to accelerate again. The reconstructionist surmised that the BMW was travelling at between 101 and 117 km/h at the time of impact with the Toyota.
The speed limit on Parkside Drive at the time was 50 km/h.
The judge also rejected the testimony of Dr. Bernd Pohlmann-Eden, a witness for the defence. The neurologist testified that Kotula had likely suffered a seizure while driving. The judge said in handing down his verdict that Pohlmann-Eden was not an impartial witness and “set out to give an opinion that would be favourable to Mr. Kotula.”
At trial, Kotula testified he did not remember being told by Dr. John Sallazzo, an emergency room doctor at St. Joseph’s hospital, just three days before the collision that he was losing his driver’s licence due to alcohol substance abuse disorder. Sallazzo testified he told Kotula not to drive and was advising the Ministry of Transportation.
Kotula had a history of seizures. In February 2020, he suffered a seizure at a hardware store. His licence was suspended on March 12, 2020 after it was determined the seizure was due to withdrawal from alcohol. The licence was reinstated on Jan. 15, 2021.
Akhtar said he found Kotula was not being truthful about having no memory of his discussion with Sallazzo and knew he had a condition that affected his driving.
“I find he was fully aware of this advice when he got behind the wheel on October 12, 2021. Even if I found he suffered a seizure, I would still find he drove in a manner of a marked departure,” Akhtar said.
Akhtar found that Kotula ignored the doctor’s advice and chose to drive anyway.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for mid-January.
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