A Georgetown, Ont. teenager who drove with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood causing a high-speed crash that claimed the lives of three children from one family in May has pleaded guilty.
Ethan Lehouillier wiped away tears in a downtown court Monday from inside the prisoner’s box and admitted to impaired driving causing the deaths of 15-year-old Ramone Lavina, 13-year-old Jace Lavina and six-year-old Mya Lavina.
Lehouillier, who has been in custody since his arrest, glanced at his parents, who sat nearby in the gallery his voice cracking as he said, “I plead guilty, your honour.”
Lehouillier also pleaded to three counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm in relation to the children’s 10-year-old brother, Avery Lavina, their mother, 35-year-old Jade Galve, and their mother’s boyfriend, 40-year-old Akesh Paladugu.
It was May 18 at 12:33 a.m. when Lehouillier, who was 19 at the time, exited the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 via the off-ramp at Renforth Drive, driving a 2015 Dodge Caravan.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Lehouillier drove through a red light at Renforth Drive and across three southbound traffic lanes on Renforth Drive, narrowly missing southbound vehicles.
The vehicle’s electronic data recorder indicates a speed of 168 km/hour five seconds prior to the collision, decreasing to 95 km/hour one tenth of a second before the crash.
Lehouillier’s minivan hit the median separating northbound and southbound traffic lanes and launched into the air. His van struck a stationary 2022 Dodge Pacifica, which was being driven by Akash Paladugu and was in the northbound lanes on Renforth Drive at a red light.
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Paladugu had five passengers onboard, including his girlfriend Galve, and her four children, Ramone, Jace, Avery and Mya Lavina.
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“The accused’s van struck Akash Paladugu’s stationary van in the mid-driver’s side with extreme force. The collision was captured on a dash camera of a vehicle waiting at the red light. The impact rolled Akash Paladugu’s van over and it came to rest upside down on the raised traffic island east of Renforth Drive,” said Crown attorney Jay Spare, reading from the facts.
Lehouillier’s vehicle continued east past Renforth Drive, over the raised traffic island and came to a rest upside down on the Highway 427 on-ramp.
“Other drivers in the area saw the accused crawling out of his overturned vehicle,” Spare told the court. “The impact to Paladugu’s van catastrophically injured three of the children, killing two immediately and leaving one surviving briefly before also succumbing to his injuries.”
When the police arrived, officers arrested Lehouillier for impaired driving by alcohol. He was taken to a police station, where he was given a breath test.
According to the facts, Lehouillier gave two breath samples. The first reading taken at 3:23 a.m. recorded 187 milligrams of alcohol/100 millilitres of blood. The second reading taken at 3:44 a.m. recorded 192 milligrams of alcohol/100 ml of blood.
Spare told court the accused’s blood alcohol content (BAC) at 12:33 a.m. would be 185 ml of alcohol/100 ml of blood. The legal limit is 80 mg/100 ml of blood.
Court heard that Jade Galve, the children’s mother, spent five days in hospital after suffering bleeding below the scalp, fractures to six left ribs and a mild lung contusion. She also required a chest tube.
Galve’s boyfriend also spent five days in hospital after suffering from facial and scalp lacerations, a right eye socket fracture, spinal fractures and injury to his left hand and chest.
Galve’s sole surviving child, 10-year-old Avery Lavina, was also in hospital for five days and suffered bleeding to his scalp, lacerations and a fractured left elbow, which required surgery, and a fractured collarbone.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for late February. Neither the Crown nor the defence have indicated what sentence they will be seeking.
Outside court, Galve, surrounded by her boyfriend, cousins and friends, told Global News that the family wants justice for the kids but noted that nothing will bring them back. She is hoping the judge will sentence Lehouillier to a lengthy sentence.
“It was very difficult seeing him, seeing the person that took away the children,” said Galve, explaining that no sentence will be enough.
“We’re trying our best to recover, but it’s impossible,” she added.
Galve is asking anyone who considers driving impaired to think of her family.
“For me, drinking and driving is a big no and the decision you make in life will affect others. Think before you even think of touching your car keys and starting the ignition … anything like this can happen, and unfortunately, it happened to us,” Galve said.
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