Driver sentenced to jail time in 2019 dangerous driving causing bodily harm case

An Aurora man convicted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm for a crash that sent a woman to hospital where she later died was sentenced Friday in a Newmarket courtroom.

Gianmarco Di Luciano was found to be driving 118km/h in a posted 60 zone when he went through a red light at an intersection along Major Mackenzie Drive West in Vaughan on Dec. 25, 2019, and crashed into another vehicle.

The collision sent Clarice Abdulla to the hospital where she died weeks later.

Five years later, Di Luciano, 41, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars and handed a three-year driving ban.

“There is some justice with jail time but it doesn’t really mean anything to us,” said Cory Abdulla, Clarice’s son. “We’d trade that over anything, especially with the sentencing nowadays. We’d rather have our loved one back.”

The 67-year-old wife, mother and grandmother ultimately died of complications with her lungs and a heart attack.

Clarice Abdulla died weeks after a collision in Vaughan, Ont., on Dec. 25, 2019. (Supplied)

A jury, which didn’t not hear evidence of Di Luciano’s possible impairment that night, found him guilty of a lesser charge of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He was also charged with refusing to provide a breath sample to police following the crash.

Di Luciano had his charges severed and was later found guilty by Justice Cary Boswell, who called his actions egregious and said he was “driving like a maniac” that night, weaving in and out of lanes.

• Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device 
• Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox

Boswell said Di Luciano had “zero excuse for driving in the manner he did” and his “risk-taking resulted in tragic consequences for others.”

Di Luciano's poor driving record was revealed in court, with a total of 11 convictions since 2001, eight of those for speeding, including two since the crash.

“He hasn’t learned his lesson, so there is not much to say to him,” Abdulla said.

The Crown asked he be sentenced to four years behind bars and be banned from driving for eight years. The defence sought a conditional sentence to be served in the community.

The judge said Di Luciano’s moral blameworthiness was high and his sentence called for strong denunciation.

Di Luciano was placed in handcuffs and taken away by police.