My older sister, Kim Pape-Green, worked in downtown Toronto and used public transit to commute to her home in Newmarket. Kim made the trip countless times. It’s a long way, so she would sometimes stay overnight with our father in North York during the weekdays.
On the evening of January 22, 2018, a mild but foggy Monday night, Kim got to North York and received word that her teenage son had suffered a 2nd degree burn during the day. She got on the next bus to Newmarket, but Kim never made it home. Crossing with the light at the intersection of Sandford Street and Mulock Drive, less than a kilometer from her house, Kim was run down by a driver turning left. She died a few hours later in the hospital.
Kim’s death devastated our family. Her teenage son is wracked with anxiety and his academics are in ruin. Kim’s two young adult children are suddenly bread-winners for their family and care-givers for their ailing father – Kim’s widowed husband. My dear father feels the loss profoundly, as do my younger sister and I; and all of Kim’s nieces and nephews; and her many friends and colleagues.
Kim was a fierce and tenacious warrior. A loving mother. A cherished sister. A doting daughter. She advocated for the marginalized and worked tirelessly on behalf of her favourite charity – the Canadian Hearing Society. She was a gentle and humble leader in her community, and she touched many lives with her beautiful smile.
Kim was killed by a driver turning left. It was dark, the fog was thick. Did the driver not see Kim? Was the driver going too fast or distracted by something? Why was the driver even out on the roads in such treacherous driving conditions?
We may never know. There were no other cars, no dash cam recordings, no witnesses to the collision. The only people who know what happened are Kim and the driver that hit her, and Kim took that information to her grave. The driver remained at the scene and called 911, but she refused to give a statement to the police or attend court to explain what happened that night in Newmarket.
On January 25, 2019, court convicted the driver of making an unlawful left turn and imposed a sentence: a fine of $500. Her license wasn’t suspended. She doesn’t have to complete any driver education. She’s probably still zipping around the same neighbourhood where she already ran down a mother crossing the road. I wonder if she’s still driving the same car. She doesn’t have to do any community service related to road safety, and, after killing my sister, the driver opted to send her lawyer to court to hear our victim impact statement.
$500. Something’s wrong.
- Kendrew Pape
How would Bill 62 change this?
| OHTA | under Bill 62 | |
| Fine | $500 | (up to) $50,000 |
| License suspension | None | 1 year |
| Community service | None | 50-200 hours |
| Driver training | None | Mandatory |
| Presence at court | None | Mandatory |
