A Brampton judge has ruled that 21-year-old Brady Robertson had over the legal limit of THC in his blood on the day his car collided with the SUV being driven by Caledon school teacher Karolina Ciasullo and her three daughters resulting in their deaths, but the judge is not satisfied that despite the elevated levels of THC and a sedative called flubromazolam in Robertson’s blood, his ability to drive was impaired.
Justice Sandra Caponecchia explained that her findings on the four counts of impaired driving causing the death of 36-year-old Ciasullo and her three little girls, 6-year-old Klara, 3-year-old Lilianna, and 1-year-old Mila Ciasullo will depend on the outcome of a constitutional challenge that is being argued before her.
Robertson’s lawyers have argued that there is a poor correlation between blood THC and impairment and just because someone has THC in their blood, does not mean they’re impaired, since chronic cannabis users can have THC in their blood for up to a week. The crown continues presenting its evidence.
In her judgement, Caponecchia dismissed utterances that the 21-year-old Caledon man-made to paramedics after colliding with Ciasullo’s white Volkswagen Atlas in the intersection of Countryside Drive and Torbram Road in Brampton on June 18, 2020, just after noon, denying he had consumed any drugs.
Instead, finding that Robertson had 40 nanograms of THC/ml of blood 45 minutes after the crash, and just over two hours later, that level had declined by 15 nanograms/ml. He also had 21 nanograms/ml of the sedative flubromazolam in his first blood sample.
Get daily Toronto news
“I find that Mr. Robertson consumed cannabis between 7:00 am and 9:00 am on the morning of June 18, 2020”, she wrote but said she could not be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that one of both of the drugs in his blood impaired Robertson’s ability to drive.
With respect to an incident in Caledon two days before the deadly crash, Caponecchia found Robertson guilty of dangerous driving. Dash cam video shown at the trial captured a Blue Infiniti sportscar without a front license plate mounting a sidewalk at the corner of Kennedy Road and Dougall Avenue in Caledon.
Witnesses can be seen trying to stop the driver who appears inebriated behind the wheel. At one point, even opening the passenger door before the young white male puts the car in reverse and speeds off.
“I am satisfied that the constellation of the circumstantial pieces of evidence lends itself to only one reasonable conclusion, that on June 16, 2020, it was Mr. Robertson who was driving his newly purchased Infiniti with his aunt’s license plate,” Caponecchia said.
Robertson, who has been in custody since his arrest in hospital six days after the deadly crash where he was recovering from two broken legs, has already pleaded guilty to four counts of dangerous driving causing death, related to the fatal collision.
It’s unclear when the judge will rule on the application to strike down the drug-impaired driving law. A sentencing hearing has been set for December.