A 56-year-old man from Lakeshore was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison, and a 15-year driving ban for his actions that seriously injured a woman, and killed her two-year-old son in 2021.
According to CTV Windsor, the court heard the accused, Darrin Obermok, was 'at least somewhat under the influence' of alcohol at the time of the collision in November, 2021.
In an agreed statement of facts, Obermok admitted that on November 10 he was driving at a high rate of speed on Lakeshore Road 113, at the intersection of County Road 42, and did not heed the warning of a stop sign.
He entered into the intersection driving approximately 105 kilometres an hour, hitting Avery Parent's SUV on the side, seriously injuring her, and killing her two-year-old son Ethan Spada.
Inside Obermok's vehicle, Ontario Provincial Police found an empty beer can.
Even though Spada was properly secured in his correctly installed rear car seat, efforts to save his life were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at hospital less than an hour after the collision.
His mother suffered serious injuries including a broken back, three broken ribs, a concussion and whiplash; injuries she continues to struggle with.
Mary Allen Wilson, Ethan's grandmother, said outside of the courthouse that it's broken their family losing Ethan.
"We miss him and wish we could have him back."
She says that the death of Ethan has changed the family.
"He was the best that we could have had, and, its broken us, its killed my daughter and its broken our family."
Allen Wilson says that she can't forgive his actions.
"I don't think he's sorry cause if you're sorry, you wouldn't ask for 18 to 24 months to stay at home with your family when you took my family."
Obermok begged the family for forgiveness, but she says she's changed her tune on forgiveness.
"I don't know, I've always been a forgiving person but I've changed my tune on that one right now."
The force of the collision pushed the SUV off the roadway and through a metal fence.
More than 20 members of the Parent-Spada family packed into provincial court Tuesday for the sentencing, where eight members of the family submitted victim impact statements.
Justice Pratt sentenced Obermok to five years in prison and a 15-year ban on driving in Ontario, concurrent on both counts.
-with files and audio from CTV Windsor