A Tragic Cannabis-Related Fatal Motor Vehicle Collision

On a nice sunny day, Thursday June 18th, 2020, shortly after noon, a blue Infiniti G35 driven by 20 year old Brady Robertson, crashed at approximately 135 km/h (speed limit, 70 km/h) into a stopped white Volkswagen Atlas driven by thirty-six year old Karolina Ciasullo. The white Volkswagen SUV then crashed into a cement hydro pole that crumbled its roof. The driver, Karolina Ciasullo and her 3 daughters, Klara (6 years old), Lilianna (3 years old) and 1 year old Mila, were all killed.

This devastating crash illustrates the worst possible outcome of driving while impaired by cannabis. A family of four – a mother and her three young children – erased in an instant because a driver chose to get behind the wheel after consuming THC.

The driver Brady Robertson had no driver’s license at the time of the fatal collision. He had been convicted of dangerous driving just 2 days before this fatal MVC. Despite this recent conviction, he was back on the road, again driving dangerously. He was taken to hospital and survived.

A blood sample collected approximately 1 hour after the collision showed his blood tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration to be 40 nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood (ng/mL). Another blood sample taken about 2 hours later showed a blood THC of 15 ng/mL. For context, the legal blood THC limits in Canada are 2 to 5 ng/mL for a lesser charge and over 5 ng/mL for a more serious criminal charge. Robertson’s first reading was eight times the serious criminal limit.

Robertson’s lawyer challenged the 5 ng/mL THC limit as unconstitutional. This legal tactic attempted to undermine Canada’s driving while impaired laws, but ultimately failed.

Both alcohol and THC cause impairment of driving ability, mainly due to their depressant effects. Both involve mainly younger male drivers. However, there are critical differences that every driver should understand:

Timing of collisions: Alcohol-related collisions occur mainly at night and on weekends. THC-related impaired driving collisions occur mainly on weekdays during the day.

Type of collisions: Alcohol-related crashes are mainly single motor vehicle collisions. THC-related crashes often involve multi-vehicle collisions – meaning more innocent victims.

Driving behaviour: Only 6.7% of cannabis-impaired drivers were observed by the police to drive too slow. The majority drive aggressively and at excessive speeds.

Brady Robertson, who was driving while impaired, exhibited the top 5 driving behaviours observed by the police for marijuana drivers. He drove at nearly double the speed limit, crossed into oncoming traffic, and crashed into a stopped vehicle. This pattern of driving while impaired by cannabis is distinctly different from alcohol impairment and often more dangerous to other road users.

The judge ruled that the federal blood THC limit of 5 ng/mL was constitutional and stated:

“Based on the totality of factors I am entitled to consider; I am satisfied that the 5 ng/mL limit for THC had a dual purpose. The objective was to strengthen the pre-existing impaired driving laws and increase road safety by deterring cannabis users from getting behind the wheel of a car after having consumed cannabis.”

Justice Coponecchia convicted Brady Robertson to 17 years in jail, one of the steepest penalties for an impaired driving causing death case in Canada. This sentence sends a clear message: driving while impaired by cannabis will not be tolerated, especially when it results in the deaths of innocent children.

The tragic loss of Karolina, Klara, Lilianna, and Mila Ciasullo could have been prevented. Robertson chose to drive while impaired. He chose to speed. He chose to drive without a license just days after a dangerous driving conviction. These choices cost four lives.

References

• Brubacher, J.R., Chan, H., Martz, W., Schreiber, W., Asbridge, M., Eppler, J., Lund, A., Macdonald, S., Drummer, O., Purssell, R., Andolfatto, G., Mann, R., and Brant, R., “Prevalence of Alcohol and Drug Use in Injured British Columbia Drivers.”
• Chihuri, S., Li, G., and Chen, Q., “Interaction of Marijuana and Alcohol on Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash Risk: A Case Control Study”, Injury Epidemiology, 4: 8, 2017
• Declues, K., Perez, S., and Figueroa, A, “A 2-Year Study on Delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabionl Concentrations in Drivers: Examining Driving and Field Sobriety Test Performance”, Journal of Forensic Science, 61: 1664-1670, 2016