Jury delivers verdict in 2020 deadly Highway 12 impaired driving case
Warning: Content in this article may be distressing for readers.
Georgian Bay Township man Sigfrid Stahn has been found guilty of impaired driving causing death in the 2020 Highway 12 crash that claimed the life of 77-year-old Midland man Guenter Naumann.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
During closing submissions Thursday, Crown Attorney Sarah Sullivan urged the jury of seven men and five women to hold 71-year-old Stahn responsible for his actions on July 4, 2020.
"He chose to put that truck into drive, and he did it while he was impaired," she stated. "Guenter Naumann would be the one to pay the ultimate price."
According to the Crown, Stahn was intoxicated and swerving in and out of the eastbound lane when he crossed double yellow lines into oncoming westbound traffic, ultimately crashing into Naumann's Mercedes convertible.
Naumann was airlifted to Sunnybrook in Toronto and died of his injuries days later.
Sullivan called the crash a "senseless head-on collision" that "claimed an innocent life."
She pointed to evidence of blood alcohol concentration collected from Stahn while in the hospital hours after the crash.
The toxicologists from the Centre of Forensic Sciences found Stahn's blood test to be over the legal limit at the time of the collision through back calculations.
Throughout the two-week trial, Stahn didn't dispute his blood alcohol level.
A pickup truck and convertible car are pictured after a deadly head-on collision on Highway 12 in Waubaushene, Ont., on July 4, 2020. (Source: OPP/Court Exhibit)
Stahn's lawyer, David Wilcox, asked the jury to consider why Naumann couldn't avoid the crash by steering away from the oncoming pickup truck, arguing the Midland man had time to react.
The defence urged the jury to consider whether Naumann had been on the phone at the time of the crash or if alcohol found in his body prevented him from reacting.
A pickup truck and convertible car are pictured after a deadly head-on collision on Highway 12 in Waubaushene, Ont., on July 4, 2020. (Source: OPP/Court Exhibit)
Earlier this week, court heard that two hospital samples taken in Midland and Toronto of Naumann's blood were found to have non-detectable levels while testing from the Centre of Forensic Sciences said contradictory test results made it difficult to conclusively say how much, if any, alcohol was in his system at the time of the crash.
Rejeanne Lachapelle was married to Naumann for 28 years and spent every day in the courtroom hoping for justice.
"I'll miss him. I'll always miss him," she said, and implored anyone who drinks and gets behind the wheel, "Please, please don't do it. It's not worth it."
"He's going away," said Lachapelle's sister, Ruth Roberts, after hearing Stahn's guilty verdict. "We're so glad it's over. It's been a long time. It's dragged out quite a bit."
"We got you justice," Roberts added as a message to her late brother-in-law.
Justice Michael McKelvey will hand down his sentencing at a later date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.