An Oshawa man who drove three times the speed limit on Lake Shore Boulevard West while drunk, causing a crash and killing his passenger, has pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death.
Kumaran Sankarkumar admitted that at approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 6, 2022, he accelerated his BMW as he was travelling eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard West at an extremely high rate of speed into the westbound lanes near Jameson Avenue into ongoing traffic.
The road was wet and the speed limit for this stretch of Lake Shore was 60 km/h.
In court Tuesday, assistant Crown attorney Marnie Golderberg told Superior Court Justice Michael Dineen that there were a number of signs, including ones that read “Do Not Enter” and another that said “Wrong Way.”
Goldenberg told court, reading from an agreed statement of facts, that the area also has a concrete barrier with a small metal guardrail on top, as the roadway is an overpass on top of the off-ramp of the eastbound Gardiner Expressway to Jameson Avenue.
Story continues below advertisement
Sankarkumar was travelling at 180 km/h just five seconds before the collision, eastbound on Lake Shore Boulevard West, west of Jameson Ave.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
As he crossed into the westbound lanes, travelling eastbound, where the Lake Shore Boulevard’s eastbound and westbound lanes separated, Sankarkumar ignored four signs indicating that eastbound traffic should stay to the right and not enter westbound lanes.
The BMW struck the end of the immovable concrete barrier at an approximate speed of 127 km/h.
More on Crime
More videos
“The collision basically split the BMW lengthways, ejecting his passenger and the front passenger seat she was sitting (in) completely out of the vehicle, shearing the seatbelt webbing in the process, and totally destroying the BMW,” Goldenberg told court.
Calling the damage catastrophic, Goldenberg told the court a mechanical inspection of the BMW after the collision determined there were no mechanical defects.
The 19-year-old woman in the passenger seat sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to hospital, where she later died. The pathologist determined her cause of death to be blunt force injuries.
Trending Now
-
Auto theft costs Canadians $1B. Here are the top vehicles sought by thieves
-
Jelly Roll shocks wife by shaving beard for 1st time after major weight loss
Sankarkumar, who was 30 at the time, attended the hospital after the collision and his blood was drawn. The Centre for Forensic Sciences (CFS) determined his Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was 141 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood at the time of the collision, or nearly twice the legal limit.
Story continues below advertisement
On May 13, 2022, Sankarkumar surrendered to Toronto Police Traffic Services, where he was charged with dangerous driving causing death and impaired driving causing death. He was released on a promise to appear in court. The crown has yet to indicate if the dangerous driving causing death charge will be dropped.
Goldenberg asked for a publication ban on the name of the victim. Dineen questioned Goldenberg about whether the media should be notified, and mentioned it was the court’s protocol to do so when asked on what basis the request was being made.
“A family that doesn’t want their daughter’s name across the news,” Goldenberg replied. Dineen decided to grant the publication ban on the victim’s name.
The case will return to court in April for a sentencing hearing at which time victim impact statements will be heard.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
