Almost three years to the day after a chain reaction crash on Parkside Drive that killed Valdemar and Fatima Avila, the trial for Artur Kotula, the 38-year-old man charged with two counts of both dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm, has begun.
According to an agreed statement of facts read out in court, Kotula was driving southbound in his 2013 BMW 320i car approaching Spring Road around 4:40 pm. The street, which runs through a residential area, had a speed limit of 50 km/h at the time.
As Kotula approached the intersection with Spring Road, which is controlled with automated traffic lights, southbound traffic was slowing to a stop due to a back-up of heavy rush hour traffic on Lake Shore Boulevard.
Ahead of the BMW were four vehicles travelling in the southbound curb lane of Parkside Drive. Kotula’s BMW moved into the curb lane and struck a Toyota Matrix being driven by Valdemar Avila. His wife Fatima was sitting in …