R. Darrah

Olavo Williams-Cordeiro was convicted of careless driving causing death in the context of a street race on Highway 403, where his vehicle was driven at speeds between 141-193 km/hr in a 100 km/hr zone.

The race culminated in a fatal collision involving a motorcycle driven by Mr. Chen.

The court considered aggravating factors including the street racing context, the defendant’s troubling driving record with multiple speeding convictions post-incident, and the need for general and specific deterrence.

Mitigating factors included the defendant’s remorse, youth, difficult upbringing, and positive family support.

The court imposed a custodial sentence of 9 months, followed by 18 months probation with conditions including a prohibition on driving, and a four-year driving prohibition.

The accused brought a motion to stay prosecution on the grounds that his Charter rights under section 11(b) (right to be tried within a reasonable time) were violated.

The accused was charged with impaired driving, driving with blood alcohol over 80 mg, and dangerous driving.

The total delay from charge to trial was approximately 15 months, with 10 months of institutional delay.

The court applied the four-factor test from R v. Morin and found that while the delay was not desirable, it did not constitute a violation of the accused's Charter rights.

The court found minimal prejudice to the accused and balanced this against society's strong interest in having the matter tried on the merits.

The motion was dismissed.