Oakville man found guilty of impaired driving, dangerous driving in death of pedestrian in 2020

Nearly two years after 51-year-old Louise Whiten and her beloved dog Zack were killed while they were out for an afternoon walk near their Oakville, Ont., home, the man on trial for impaired driving by drugs and dangerous driving causing death has been found guilty on both counts.

Madam Justice Ann-Marie Calsavara, who presided over the eight-day trial, rejected Hyde’s defence that he suffered a medical condition known as a “syncope”  that was induced by coughing, which rendered him to momentarily lose consciousness just prior to the fatal crash.

“I find based on all the evidence, Mr. Hyde’s foot came off the pedal and then back on. A split second before impact, the steering wheel was turned to the left. Commiserate with the time Mr. Hyde’s foot came off the gas pedal,” said Calsavara. “Based upon all the evidence, I find that Mr. Hyde turned the steering wheel,” she said, determining that had Hyde been unconscious, he would not have been able to turn the wheel.

It was just after 2 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2020 when Whiten and her dog were struck from behind as they were walking along a dirt path along Lakeshore Boulevard in Oakville. The Nissan Sentra being driven by Hyde was travelling about 90 km/hour in a 50 km/hour zone. The car which was travelling eastbound, left the road and hit the pathway, travelling 58 metres, running over Whiten and her dog, striking a Bell utility box before slamming into a concrete pillar at 65 km/hour causing the car to redirect in the opposite direction.

Hyde was arrested and charged with impaired driving at the scene after an officer smelled alcohol on his breath. Court also heard after Hyde got out of his car, he returned to it, opened it and closed the trunk. Police later found beer cans, some of which were empty, and a bag with 10.6 grams of cannabis. A civilian witness later overhead Hyde uttering the words, “I think I’m f-cked.”

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Hyde who was taken back to the police station to be booked had a zero blood alcohol content, but a drug recognition expert who performed a walk and turn test on the 58-year-old testified that Hyde was under the influence of cannabis.

Hyde testified at trial he had two cans of beer at lunch but said he had no recollection of leaving the road or hitting Whiten that day. He also denied he smoked cannabis that day, but admitted to smoking half a joint the night before. On the stand, he testified he suffered a coughing-induced syncope, something he had experienced twice in 2013.

Calsavara called Hyde “a poor witness” who she found to be unreliable and said whatever he could to limit his criminal liability. Calsavara noted that according to Hyde, he had his most significant syncope episode of his life on Dec. 3, 2020 but still he refused to go to hospital. The following evening, he sought medical treatment to get his ribs checked out.

“In my view, Mr. Hyde’s testimony was not plausible or believable. I have used those findings only to reject his evidence,” said Calsavara. “Drug impairment was a factor and this impairment was the cause of egregious driving.”

Louise Whiten’s widower Ching Mac said he is relieved with the guilty verdicts. “It’s unbelievable that someone had the gall to do it and to drag it out for nearly two years, it doesn’t help our family move to the next step or closure at all. It’s just been a very frustrating experience. Just listening to all the lies,” Mac told Global News after the verdict.

Whiten’s sister-in-law Sudan Cashin said the family was nervous about the verdict. “It could go either way and the burden of proof on the Crown was very high. We were very happy with this judgment. We were very relieved. It has been a long time to have to go through this and sitting in court was extremely difficult knowing it was a defence we truly felt was self-serving and made up just to avoid going to jail,” said Cashin.

A sentencing hearing has been set for February. Hyde remains out on bail.