Driver pleads guilty after killing cyclist north of Toronto, while driving twice the speed limit

Drak Paul was doing twice the speed limit on his way to work when lost control, hitting and killing a cyclist just north of King City, Ontario on July 24, 2020. Yesterday, in a Zoom hearing, the 22-year-old pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop. According to the Toronto Sun, “After his arrest, police discovered Paul’s insurance had been cancelled two years earlier for non-payment of premiums.”

The collision killed Daniel Bertini, 54, a science teacher at Maple’s St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School. Bertini was riding his bike northbound. Crown attorney Sean Doyle told the court that a York Regional Police officer had Paul doing 125 km/h as he drove the opposite direction on a road with a 60 km/h speed limit. The officer then turned around in pursuit of the car, before having to give up the chase due to construction.

Doyle estimated Paul’s speed at between 130-140 km/h. A witness at the scene said their car was travelling northbound when the Honda passed another vehicle and almost collided with them, Doyle said. Other witnesses on the scene believed his speed to be at 150 km/h.

After the failed pursuit, Paul was attempting to go up a slight hill just when his rear passenger side tire hit the gravel shoulder he spun out of control, only 2 km north of where he was caught on radar trap by the officer. As the driver lost control, he hit cyclist Bertini, who was travelling northbound.

The car slid up a slight up an embankment and then rolled, and then flipped in the air before landing upside down. After the police learned that the officer gave up the chase of Paul, he was investigated by the Special Investigation Unit in February. He was cleared of any misconduct.

Bertini was an avid cyclist and a cross-country skier. He leaves behind him a wife and teenaged son.