Orangeville man involved in 3 separate collisions killing 2 while impaired pleads guilty

An Orangeville man has pleaded guilty to killing two people in three separate collisions in Brampton and Toronto on the night of June 29, 2018, while driving impaired under the influence of cocaine and marijuana, stealing vehicles along the way and failing to stop.

Martin Hines, 30, stood before a packed courtroom on Thursday and pleaded guilty to two counts of impaired driving causing death, two counts of criminal negligence causing death, a count of impaired driving causing bodily harm, a count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and two counts of robbery.

Family and friends of the two victims, 60-year-old Eddie Alquinto and 19-year-old Zohaib Jailani, listened closely, some of them in tears, as the facts of what happened the night their loved ones were killed were read out.

Crown attorney Stuart Rothman told Justice Diane Oleskiw that at 1 a.m., Hines was driving his 2013 Mercedes sedan at a high rate of speed near McLaughlin Road and Steeles Avenue West in Brampton.

Court heard that as Hines was travelling eastbound on Steeles, he lost control after clipping another vehicle and struck the back of a Mazda MX5 being driven by Alquinto, who was killed instantly.

His wife Maria Grethel Dela Vega, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was critically injured.

Rothman said after that collision, Hines left the scene and tried to steal a car from a driver sitting at the intersection. He was unsuccessful. Hines then stole another idling Honda Accord, which was being driven by a bystander who got out to help and took off at a high rate of speed.

The court heard that at 1:07 a.m., Hines lost control of the stolen vehicle near Steeles Avenue and Castlemore Drive and ran into a 2017 White Volkswagen. He punched the driver of that car before getting back into the stolen Honda Accord and drove at speeds at or in excess of 150 kilometres an hour along Steeles Avenue towards Toronto.

Rothman said at 1:20 a.m., Hines struck a 2016 Dodge Caravan that was preparing to turn southbound into Kipling Avenue off Steeles Avenue. That caused a chain reaction crash. Jailani, who was standing at the corner of Steeles and Kipling avenues was struck by the Caravan and was critically injured.

Court heard that investigators estimated that Hines did not apply the brakes prior to that collision, and was travelling at the maximum speed the Honda Accord can travel, which is 200 kilometres an hour.

Just east of the intersection of Kipling and Steeles avenues, Rothman said Hines abandoned the badly damaged Accord and ran into a parking lot at 10 Markbrook Lane. Hines then entered the passenger side of a vehicle that was idling, punched the driver, stole her car and continued driving eastbound on Steeles Avenue.

Rothman said the deadly rampage finally came to an end at 1:23 a.m., when Hines, still driving at a high rate of speed, crashed into a hydro pole not far from the corner of Steeles Avenue and Old Weston Road.

Hines abandoned that stolen vehicle and started waving his arms in the intersection, eventually jumping into the bike rack of a TTC bus. When the driver got out to find out what was going on, Hines ran into the bus, and jumped in the driver’s seat. He couldn’t start the bus and police on scene subsequently arrested him.

Rothman said tn the way to hospital, Hines became unresponsive and remained that way for several hours before waking up in hospital.

Court heart that at 2:55 p.m. the same day, Jailani died in hospital. His cause of death was blunt force trauma.

In court, Hines admitted he used cocaine and THC before driving that night.

WATCH: Man accused of killing 2 in 3 separate hit-and-run crashes makes 1st court appearance

2:04 Man accused of killing 2 in 2 separate hit-and-run crashes makes 1st court appearance

In her victim impact statement, Alquinto’s widow, Maria Grethel Dela Vega, broke down in tears as she addressed Hines directly, telling him he ended the life of a beautiful person, who had two young daughters aged five and 10, because of his reckless driving.

“We had hopes and dreams. He (Eddie) wanted to guide his two girls and do so much for them. Everything was destroyed because of you Martin Hines,” Delavega said.

Dela Vega told the court she also suffered many injuries including fractured ribs, a fractured clavicle and fractured arm. She missed her husband’s funeral because she was in hospital.

“I survived surgeries but the worst pain is losing someone you love,” she told the court.

Jailani’s parents, Naveed and Wajiha Jailani, also submitted a victim impact statement which was read out by a family friend. They spoke of a 19-year-old son who had dreams of working at the United Nations.

A first born son killed because of the “irresponsible actions of the accused. An entire lifetime of sentences could not make up for the trauma and damage this has caused,” the family friend said.

The crown and defence delivered joint sentencing submissions of nine years in a penitentiary minus credit for pre-trial custody. Rothman told the judge that Hines has pleaded guilty to some of the most serious crimes.

“He drove in an outrageous manner for 25 minutes, going 150-200 kilometres an hour killing two people and injuring two others. He stole a bystander’s vehicle who was trying to help. He stole another vehicle using violence. He failed to remain at three collisions, two which involved death,” Rothman said.

Hine’s lawyer, Robb MacDonald, pointed out that Hines is a first time offender and told the court on the night before the offence, Hines took marijuana and cocaine at his cousin’s place to “get numb” after feeling a lot of financial pressure in his life and not being able to see his ten-year-old son.

The last thing Hines remembers, MacDonald said, is pulling out of the parking lot at his cousin’s apartment. Hines then remembers waking up on the bus and then later in hospital.

MacDonald told the court Hines feels incredibly remorseful and feels like a bad person. He also pointed to a psychiatric report done in November that found Hines was suffering from a toxic psychosis brought on by a self-induced intoxication. The report said it caused him to essentially black out that night.