Two-and-a-half years after Kalyan Trivedi drove at dangerously high speeds, rear-ending a car with a couple inside, the 33-year-old has been sentenced to five years in prison and a 10-year driving prohibition.
Trivedi pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of 58-year-old Norma Buendia and her husband, 61-year-old Roberto Navarro in March, on the eve of his trial.
It happened on the eastbound Gardiner Expressway near Islington Road around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2021. Trivedi, who was driving his Audi at an extreme rate of speed, collided with the rear end of a Nissan driving ahead of him, going the speed limit.
Trivedi and his passenger were unharmed but Navarro sustained serious life-altering injuries and his wife was killed. After the crash, Trivedi lingered in the area for about 15 minutes but then left the scene without ever identifying himself to anyone.
The Crown and defence did not agree on an appropriate sentence. The Crown suggested between five and 5.5 years in prison would be appropriate for dangerous driving causing death with a concurrent three-year sentence for dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The defence argued a three-year sentence would be appropriate.
In her reasons for sentence, Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy told the court that a five-year sentence for dangerous driving causing death to be served concurrently with a three-year sentence for dangerous driving causing bodily harm was appropriate because of three seriously aggravating factors.
“The dangerous driving in this case was egregious and was sustained over a considerable period of time and distance. Many lives were endangered, in addition to the two victims here,” Molloy said.
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Molloy said the second aggravating factor was Trivedi’s deplorable driving record, which included numerous speeding violations as well as persistently driving without a valid permit, even after recently receiving tickets for that same offence.
“He simply refuses to follow the rules. He is a menace on our streets and highways,” she said.
She also highlighted the fact that Trivedi simply walked away from the scene in the face of what must have looked to be catastrophic injuries to the two people in the Nissan.
“No explanation for that cowardly behaviour was ever presented,” Molloy added.
Molloy said that a penitentiary sentence is called for given dangerous driving is a deliberate criminal act, a decision to drive in a manner that endangers members of the public with complete disregard for their safety.
“Mr. Trivedi killed an innocent person, and grievously injured another.”
The judge said there are some mitigating factors but they pale in comparison to the enormity of what he has done.
“What he did was not out of character,” she said. “It was entirely consistent with his driving record. It cannot be tolerated and is deserving of a sentence that sends a message loud and clear both to Mr Trivedi and like-minded individuals.”
Molloy did not give any reductions for Trivedi’s bail given she found the conditions were not sufficiently onerous. She did him credit of two days for the one day he served in custody before he was released on bail.
She also said the 10-year driving prohibition will begin after Trivedi completes serving his prison sentence.
“This is necessary for the protection of the public,” she said.
“He is a menace on our streets. I am not prepared to reduce that by the period of time Mr. Trivedi was on bail and subject to a driving prohibition as part of his bail conditions.”
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