Repeat drunk driver sentenced to 9.5 years in death of 19-year-old Mississauga man

An Orangeville man has been sentenced to 9.5 years behind bars for driving drunk and killing a 19-year-old Mississauga man.

Speaking to a Brampton court Monday, Ontario court judge Katherine McLeod described the pain evoked by the victim impact statements from Jagrajan Brar's family as frankly heartbreaking," adding they tell driver Peter Simms what devastation" his actions caused.

Simms, 46, caused the immediate death of a young man with his whole life to live, who was peacefully driving to see his girlfriend," McLeod said.

She said Simms had a lot to drink, could have got a taxi for himself and the female he was with that night, and was driving at excessive speeds north on Hurontario Street before the Oct. 10, 2020, crash that injured three and killed Brar.

Mitigating factors included Simms' early guilty plea and the genuine remorse he has shown since his arrest, McLeod said.

McLeod said the sentence given to Simms, a repeat drunk driving offender, is guided by the principles of the Criminal Code which are geared toward denunciation and deterrence. The sentence includes four years to be served concurrently for impaired driving causing bodily harm to his female passenger.

Simms, who looked on from the prisoner's box throughout the sentencing proceedings, was given credit of 13 months for the hardships faced in prolonged lockdown, isolation and confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him to serve a sentence of 8.4 years.

Court heard Simms had three prior convictions for impaired driving.

Drunk driving leaves a terrible trail of death, injury, heartbreak and destruction," McLeod said. From the point-of-view of numbers alone, it has a far greater impact on Canadian society than any other crime."

Crown prosecutor Daniel Galluzzo, had argued Simms' extreme act of selfishness" warranted a prison term of 10 years. Defence lawyer Domenic Basile argued for a sentence of 7.5 years, minus more than a year's credit for the more than eight months he served at Maplehurst jail.

I stole his life away from him and your family because I made a decision to drink and drive," Simms told court at sentencing hearings last month.

According to the agreed facts of the case, Simms was speeding north on Hurontario Street in his Audi S5 sports car when he rear-ending a northbound Kia then careened into the southbound lanes and crashed head-on into Brar's Honda Civic.

Simms was captured on surveillance video exiting the Audi before he was arrested by two officers from an unmarked cruiser.

Brar died at the scene.

Simms was also given a 30-year driver ban.

Jason Miller is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering crime and justice in the Peel Region. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic