When Drunk Driving Kills, It’s Not an Accident — It’s Homicide
They call it an “accident.”
But what do you call it when someone knowingly gets behind the wheel after drinking, drives through your community at 80, 100, 120 km/h — and someone dies?
That’s not an accident.
That’s a choice.
And choices have consequences.
This post is not just commentary — it’s a call to action. Below is a formal petition demanding Crown prosecutors consider charges of reckless homicide by intoxication when alcohol, speed, and fatality intersect.
We’ve seen enough senseless deaths.
It’s time the justice system stopped offering leniency dressed up as sympathy — and started protecting the rest of us.
On May 18, 2025, a Victoria Day weekend turned tragic in Toronto’s west end. A minivan, stopped at a red light after exiting Highway 401 in Etobicoke, was struck by an alleged drunk driver, who lost control while speeding. Three young lives were lost: Ramone (15), Jace (13) died instantly, and Maya (6) passed away later in hospital. The children's mother, their 10‑year‑old sibling, and the driver’s companion survived the crash. Criminal charges now include three counts of impaired driving causing death and three counts of causing bodily harm.CityNews Toronto
It echoes a grim reminder of a similar tragedy from 2015 in Vaughan, when a drunk driver claimed the lives of three siblings and their grandfather — a case that continues to haunt this region.CityNews Toronto en.wikipedia.org
⚖️ The Problem:
Canada still treats impaired driving deaths as vehicular manslaughter or criminal negligence causing death — not homicide.
Prosecutors often defer to plea deals or reduced sentencing.
Public outrage builds... but accountability rarely does.
🧭 The Ethical Line:
Drinking is a choice.
Driving is a choice.
Killing someone while intoxicated isn’t misfortune. It’s weaponized negligence.
That deserves the label — and weight — of homicide.
📝 The Petition:
We are calling on [We are calling on the Crown Attorney’s Office for Toronto Region, and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, to re-evaluate the thresholds by which intoxicated and fatal collisions are prosecuted — and to consider reckless intoxication resulting in death as a form of homicide, not misfortune.], and the Ministry of the Attorney General to:
Recognize reckless intoxication resulting in death as homicide
Push for the strictest interpretation of existing statutes
Expand public awareness around prosecutorial discretion in such cases
🔗 https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6736
📣 What You Can Do:
Sign the petition
Share this post
Write to your local MPP or MP
Use your voice. Use your name. If not for this case, then for the next one.
🧨 Final Word:
Drunk driving didn’t fade with the PSAs of the 90s. It evolved.
The cars are faster, the substances are harder, and the justice system hasn’t kept up.
Let’s change that — before another family gets the call no one should receive.