Ontario Premier Doug Ford had some harsh words Thursday for the 18-year-old driver charged in a crash on Highway 48 that killed a beloved father of three — the same driver that police say previously crashed into an OPP vehicle that Ford was a passenger in last January.
“As far as I’m concerned he shouldn’t have been driving,” Ford said of the accused, Jaiwin Kirubananthan, 18, of Oshawa, after he was previously charged with dangerous driving in the incident involving the premier.
On August 3, around 9:30 p.m., police say Kirubananthan was involved in a crash on Highway 48 between St. John Sideroad and Ballantrae Commons, that claimed the life of 35-year-old Andrew Cristillo.
Cristillo leaves behind his wife, Christina, and three young daughters Leah, Chloe, and Ella, who were all also in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
The children, who are all under the age of eight, reportedly have life-altering injuries.
Christina was also injured and is simultaneously battling breast cancer.
Ford called the situation “heart-wrenching.”
“You think of the three young girls, his wife that has cancer. Everyone has to pitch in and help this family, it’s terrible.”
Police say Kirubananthan fled the scene of the fatal crash, but was found a short time later.
He’s charged with dangerous driving causing death, three counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failing to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in death, and public mischief.
Ford says it’s a tragedy that he was able to get behind the wheel and drive after the previous incident where the Premier says he himself narrowly avoided serious injury, or even death.
The collision involving Ford happened on January 8, just before 1 p.m. on Highway 401 near Brock Road in Pickering as the premier was coming back from an announcement at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. The vehicle got “sideswiped,” Ford said.
“It could’ve been (me), three or four inches more, he hit me right on my door going over 200 kilometre an hour,” Ford explained. “We didn’t even know what hit us, we’re just driving straight and he swooped across three lanes from an on-ramp, just reckless careless stunt driving, and we were lucky, literally by inches.”
“And he gets back in the car and acts like an idiot, driving recklessly.”
With files from Afua Baah, CityNews
