As she sentenced the young drunk driver to eight years in prison for the senseless deaths of three children, the emotional Toronto judge posed an important question. Would Ramone Lavina, 15, brother Jace, 13, and sister Mya, 6, still be alive if there had been an ignition interlock device that night on Ethan Lehouillier’s vehicle? And since the answer is so achingly obvious, why aren’t they as mandatory as seat belts and child car seats?
Judge's Emotional Statement
“If Mr. Lehouillier’s car had been equipped with an interlock device, he would not have been able to start his car. It’s as simple as that,” said Justice Kim Crosbie. “He snuck out of his trailer unbeknownst to his family. I have heard of no one else that was around that could have blown into the device for him. He would have had to stay at the trailer that night and he could not have driven down the (Hwy.) 401 at high rates of speed. He would not have killed Ramone, Jace and Mya. They would be alive today.”
Courtroom Scene
As she spoke, Lehouillier, 20, couldn’t have made himself look smaller if he had tried. The former Georgetown dishwasher, who never applied for bail and pleaded guilty as soon as possible, seemed to shrink in the corner of the prisoner’s box, his eyes filled with the tears of guilt and shame. He was hardly the only one crying. The judge had to fight back her own emotions and reach for a tissue as she delivered her judgment Monday afternoon to a packed courtroom, an overflow courtroom and to more than two dozen virtual observers as well.
Details of the Crash
Court heard Lehouillier, consumed by depression and self-loathing, had spent the day drinking at his family’s trailer. When he couldn’t sleep, he snuck out and got into his vehicle to go home. With what the court heard was more than double the legal alcohol limit in his system, he took the 401’s Renforth Ave. off-ramp at 168 km/h, drove through a red light, hit a median and slammed into the van of an innocent family heading home from watching Victoria Day fireworks. On that May 18, 2025, day, the three children died of blunt-force trauma; mom Jade Galve, 35, her son Avery, 10, and her partner Akesh Paladugu, 40, were all injured and spent five days in hospital.
Victim Impact Statement
The judge had to pause before quoting from Galve’s heartbreaking victim impact statement delivered earlier this year: “The loss is unbearable. Every time I close my eyes, the accident continues to replay in my head. I can remember every single detail, especially holding my lifeless daughter in my arms while I yelled for help. Seeing all my loved ones hurt and unresponsive, it breaks my heart every time.”
Judge Refuses to Call It a Tragedy
Crosbie refused to call it a tragedy because that would suggest it was random fate that destroyed Galve’s family. “Their deaths were not the unfortunate result of a tornado or a flood. Their lives were extinguished because of a purposeful act: Mr. Lehouillier made a decision to get in his car while significantly impaired by alcohol and he made a choice to drive at a dangerously high speed,” she said. “As a result, we are again confronted with a courtroom filled with grieving family members and friends. This is a deplorably common sight within the walls of this courthouse and all over this country. The circumstances are equally predictable: Mr. Lehouillier, even though he had been educated about the risks of drunk driving, made a choice to drive anyway, failing to translate his knowledge into action.”
Sentencing and Driving Ban
The Crown had argued for an eight- to 10-year sentence; the defence had urged the judge to impose six to eight years. The judge acknowledged that for some, anything other than a life sentence for each child would fall short. “I know that regardless of the sentence I impose, the most significant and difficult consequence Mr. Lehouillier will face is living with what he did for the rest of his life,” Crosbie said. With credit for pre-sentence custody, Lehouillier has 6 1/2 more years to serve. Crosbie also imposed a 20-year driving ban that began at the time of his sentencing.
Call for Mandatory Interlock Devices
Long after two distraught families left the downtown courtroom, an emotional judge’s message continues to resonate. “It is now the norm to use a seat belt and to place a child securely in the vehicle. To not do so seems unthinkable,” Crosbie said. “Perhaps we will see the day when having vehicles without interlocked devices is equally unthinkable.”
