A 46-year-old Orangeville man with three prior convictions for drunk driving has pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing the death of a 19-year-old Mississauga man and impaired driving causing bodily harm of the offender’s girlfriend in relation to a three-vehicle crash during the Thanksgiving weekend.
According to the facts read out in Zoom court by Crown attorney Daniel Galluzzo that defence lawyer Dominic Basile agreed were “substantially correct,” Peter Simms consumed as many as nine beers over a six-hour period.
The Crown said Simms drove from a Jack Astor’s restaurant to an outdoor concert and then to a bar before the fatal collision that resulted in the death of Lorne Park Secondary Student Jagrajan (Jag) Brar.
Galluzzo said three Peel Regional Police officers driving northbound on Hurontario Street near Mineola Road at around midnight on Oct. 10 witnessed a black Audi S5, being driven by Simms, proceed past them at a high rate of speed.
The Audi fishtailed and rear-ended a blue Kia Soul, before entering the southbound lanes of Hurontario and colliding with the driver’s side door of a White Honda Civic being driven by Brar. Simms got out of the Audi and walked westbound, leaving his seriously injured girlfriend, Angel Christine Macintyre, behind.
One of the officers who witnessed the crash and who had pulled over followed Simms and after noticing a strong odour of alcohol on his breath, arrested him for impaired driving.
“Mr. Simms asked if he had killed anyone. The officer said he did not know. At 12:17 a.m., Brar was pronounced dead. The officer advised Simms he was under arrest for impaired driving causing death,” Galluzzo told Justice Katherine McLeod.
Simms was taken to Mississauga General Hospital where two breath samples were taken. At 3:29 a.m., his blood alcohol level (BAC) was 150 milligrams for 100 millilitres of blood. At 3:22 a.m., his BAC was 154 milligrams for 100 millilitres of blood.
At the time of the fatal collision, it’s estimated his blood alcohol level was 190 milligrams for 100 millilitres of blood, more than twice the legal limit of 80 milligrams for 100 millilitres of blood.
Data obtained from the Audi found Simms was travelling at a speed of 149 km/h two-and-a-half seconds prior to the crash. And just before the collision, braked to 132 km/h. The posted speed limit along Hurontario Street is 50 km/h.
An autopsy found that Brar died of multiple blunt force trauma. Macintyre suffered spinal fractures.
Galluzzo said that before speeding up Hurontario Street that night, the Audi Simms was driving was seen travelling at a high rate of speed with a pick-up truck side by side along Lakeshore Road. The two vehicles then turned northbound on Hurontario.
Outside the A. Grenville and William Davis Court House in Brampton where the hearing was held over Zoom, friends and family of Brar listened on their phones as they have done on numerous occasions since Simms’ arrest. They brought posters saying, “Don’t let the Justice System Fail Jag again” and “Justice 4 Jag. Keep our roads safe.”
While relieved by the guilty plea, the family wondered what happened to the other four charges Simms was accused of: Dangerous operation causing death, failing to stop after an accident causing death, dangerous operation causing bodily harm and failing to stop causing bodily harm.
“I’m at a loss here, it was heartbreaking. I was sitting in my car bawling my eyes out. To actually hear what happened, he killed my son and to be able to make some kind of arrangement that he’s only pleading guilty to two counts. This man’s not doing this to save us the grief of having a trial,” Rob Brar, Jag’s father, said, adding there needs to be stiffer sentences when it comes to drinking and driving.
“There’s no part of him that shows remorse. He’s doing this for his own benefit.”
At the time of his arrest, police wrote in a news release that Simms had three prior convictions for impaired driving.
Jag’s uncle, Nar Sandhu, said he hoped that Simms guilty plea won’t lead to a lenient sentence.
“It does save us some grief. It is somewhat of a relief that at least we can get to the sentencing stage but there are no words to explain his actions, then to run away from the scene. We have to make an example out of him,” he said, referring to Simms’ third conviction for impaired driving and the most recent one that resulted in the death of his nephew.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May at which time some family members will be allowed to sit in the courtroom with Simms while others will be able to watch on Zoom, calling it a “hybrid courtroom.”
Basile told the judge he will argue some of the facts though agreed the facts regarding Simms level of impairment were correct.
Simms, who listened in by phone from Maplehurst Correctional Centre where he has been in custody since his arrest, said little during the hour-long hearing. Court heard he could not appear through video due to a recent outbreak of COVID-19, which affected the proceedings.