York Region police officer handed 18-month conditional sentence in 2019 collision

An off-duty York Regional Police officer is facing an 18-month conditional sentence in connection with a 2019 collision which left a Pickering, Ont., man with life-altering injuries.

Const. Nathan Coates, 45, who was convicted earlier this year of failing to remain at the scene of an accident and rendering assistance, was handed his sentence on Monday at a Newmarket court.

On Sept. 29, 2019, 23-year-old Stuart Sweeney was riding his father’s Harley Davidson westbound on Highway 7 near York Durham Line.

That’s when an eastbound Nissan Pathfinder being driven by Coates, who was off-duty at the time and had just left a slow-pitch tournament where he was drinking, crossed the centre line into Sweeney’s lane, striking the motorcycle and throwing Sweeney onto the grass.

1:29 An off-duty York Regional Police officer has been convicted of failing to remain at the scene of an accident and rendering assurance

Coates drove for nearly four kilometres before pulling over after his SUV broke down and did not call for help.

Sweeney managed to reach his phone, despite being seriously injured, and called 911 himself. When responding officers connected the two incidents, Coates was arrested at the scene.

Sweeney spent months in hospital and had to have his left leg amputated above the left knee. He also underwent two surgeries to have his left arm reconstructed.

The results of the breath test found that at the time of his arrest, Coates had a significantly higher amount of alcohol in his system than the legal limit.

However, readings from a breath test were thrown out after an earlier ruling by Justice Jonathan Dawe after defence argued that the officer’s charter rights had been breached.

Justice Dawe — who presided over the trial last summer — ultimately found Coates not guilty of impaired driving causing bodily harm, not guilty of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the collision.

Coates will spend the first nine months of his sentence under house arrest. He must also complete 100 hours of community service, as well as a 30-month driving prohibition.  Coates must also submit a DNA sample.

Coates, a member of the York Regional Police since 2005, was suspended with pay after his arrest.

In a press release on Monday, the force confirmed Coates has now been suspended without pay.

“He now will be subject to additional charges under the Police Services Act,” the release read.

In a statement to Global News, Sweeney’s mother, Doris Sweeney, said Stuart is a “truly wonderful person,” who “didn’t do anything to warrant being run over and left to fend for himself, broken, bleeding out in a ditch.”

But, the Doris said, Sweeney is “so much more than this terrible thing that was done to him.”

“His tremendous losses and visible and emotional scares are symbols of his incredible strength,” the statement read. “His strength to not only heroically save himself and survive this horrific experience, but also his amazing strength to continue to muster all his resolve to move on; to keep striving to create his best life despite the ongoing lifelong challenges that this unecessary trauma has caused.”