When a road accident results in someone’s death in Ontario, the police will immediately start a collision reconstruction investigation. Depending on the presence of criminal behaviour by the driver, such as dangerous driving, driving while impaired, or criminal negligence, the investigation may result in criminal charges in Ontario under the Criminal Code for driving offences.
Below, we discuss the legal implications for negligence homicides and the penalties for vehicular manslaughter in Canada and explore possible defence strategies to contest the charges.
Key Takeaways
- Criminal behaviour, such as dangerous driving, driving while impaired or criminal negligence that led to someone’s death can result in manslaughter charges.
- The maximum penalty for manslaughter charges in Canada is life in prison.
- Avoiding driving when dizzy, staying away from dangerous driving and being aware of the traffic at all times can help steer clear of criminal prosecution.
Table of contents:
- What Is Vehicular Manslaughter in Canada?
- Negligent Homicides on Toronto’s Roads: Incidents and Prosecution
- Defence Strategies for Vehicular Homicides
- Penalties and Sentencing
- Legal Representation for Manslaughter Charges
- Preventative Measures
What Is Vehicular Manslaughter in Canada?
Unlike other jurisdictions, there is no offence of vehicular manslaughter in Ontario. Instead, the charges for vehicular homicide are covered by separate sections of the Criminal Code, which include:
- Dangerous driving causing death: According to Section 320.13 (3), when someone drives in a dangerous manner and, as a result, causes the death of another person, they commit a criminal offence.
- Criminal negligence causing death: Vehicular manslaughter can happen through criminal negligence causing death in Ontario, for example, driving in a manner showing wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other people.
- Impaired driving causing death: DUI manslaughter happens when the driver causes the death of another while impaired to any degree by alcohol, drugs or both, resulting in impaired driving manslaughter charges.
- Hit and run driving causing death: If the driver flees the place of the accident involving the death of another person, they are committing an offence known as failure to stop at the scene, covered by Section 320.16 (3).
Negligent Homicides on Toronto’s Roads: Incidents and Prosecution
According to the reports based on local police data, 30 people died as a result of automobile accidents in Toronto during the first nine months of 2024. This figure is the highest for the last nine years after Toronto introduced the Vision Zero program aimed at reducing the number of deaths on the road.
While the investigation and prosecution of these incidents are still pending, in October of last year, the Superior Court decided a landmark case involving unintentional vehicular manslaughter. The court found the driver guilty in an accident involving the killing of two pedestrians as a result of a chain-reaction crash on Parkside Drive in Toronto. The case stands out among other case studies of manslaughter charges in Ontario as it resulted in multiple deaths and involved a driver with a medical history of seizures.
While the defence argued that the driver could have been unconscious during the incident, the judge declined these arguments and the accused’s testimony, naming him “an unreliable historian.” Finally, the judge concluded that the accused drove in a manner of marked departure based on the results of collision reconstruction as well as the fact that the driver had a history of seizures and conscientiously ignored the doctor’s advice not to drive.
Defence Strategies for Vehicular Homicides
While the choice of successful defence strategies for manslaughter charges is always case-specific, there are common legal arguments that can be raised in court.
The list of the most common defence strategies for vehicular homicides includes:
- Raising a reasonable doubt: Since the Crown has to prove the accused’s guilt in manslaughter beyond reasonable doubt, questioning the credibility of evidence and the results of the investigation is always a viable option.
- Accident: The defence can argue that the victim’s death does not result from criminal negligence or another criminal act and doesn’t make a negligent homicide case.
- Violation of Charter rights: If the police violated any of the accused’s rights during arrest or investigation, a murder defence lawyer can make an application to exclude the evidence collected in violation of the Charter and contest vehicular manslaughter or attempted murder charges.
Penalties and Sentencing
Among criminal penalties for traffic offences, vehicular manslaughter sentences in Canada are the most serious.
The Criminal Code imposes a life sentence as a maximum penalty for cases involving the deaths of the victims in traffic accidents through driver’s fault, which include:
- penalty for negligent manslaughter,
- DUI manslaughter sentence,
- sentence for dangerous driving causing death,
- penalty for failure to stop after an accident involving death.
On top of that, criminal offences equivalent to vehicular manslaughter in Canada carry a minimum sentence of 30 days jail time for a second offence and 120 days for each subsequent offence, as well as a $1,000 fine for the first incident. Additionally, the conviction is followed by a driving ban and a criminal record.
Legal Representation for Manslaughter Charges
With the maximum penalties for vehicular manslaughter in Ontario amounting to life imprisonment, you need the most experienced criminal defence lawyers in Toronto to contest the charges. While the accused has the right to self-represent themselves during pre-trial proceedings, it is in your best interests to retain a lawyer early in the process to avoid hurting your case and ensure a strong defence.
A criminal lawyer can make all the difference at all stages of the criminal proceedings, helping to secure the release on bail, assess the chances of charges being dropped, or achieve a settlement with the Crown. A vehicular manslaughter lawyer can critically examine the evidence, including the reconstruction of the accident, and bring the prosecution case to a rigorous test in court.
Preventative Measures
When the death on the road results from an accident that does not involve criminal negligence or other criminally charged behaviour, such as dangerous driving or driving while impaired, there is no offence or penalty. Accordingly, following the traffic rules and safe driving practices are the best measures to prevent criminal responsibility and automobile accident manslaughter charges.
While drivers in Canada learn the basics of safe driving before getting their license, it is important to take a preventive stance and ensure being on the side of the law and traffic rules at all times. Avoiding driving when dizzy, staying away from dangerous driving and being aware of the traffic are the most simple yet important rules, which can help save lives and avoid disruptive consequences of vehicular manslaughter sentence in Ontario.
Conclusion
When DUI or dangerous driving results in death, the consequences of the accident could be devastating even for the survivors. Automobile accident manslaughter charges bear a maximum penalty of life in prison, minimum charges and driving license suspension, which can have a high toll on anyone’s life.
Following safe driving practices, avoiding DUI and observing the traffic rules are the best safeguards against accidents. In the unfortunate event that someone is killed in a road incident in Brampton, Mississauga, Newmarket, Scarborough, Richmond Hill or anywhere else in the Greater Toronto Area, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with criminal lawyers from Vilkhov Law as early as possible for a free initial consultation. You can contact Vilkhov Law’s central office in Toronto or reach out to our lawyers for each specific city, for example, our Vaughan criminal lawyer for vehicular manslaughter and other automobile accident-related charges
