A Windsor man has been sentenced after a fatal RetroFest collision in 2022.
Brett Iler, 30, was taken into custody Wednesday by Chatham-Kent police immediately after being sentenced to 40 days in jail.
He was convicted in November 2024 of two counts of careless driving for the deaths of Nigel Sedge, 29, and Jaimee Doyle, 28, on May 27, 2022.
Iler was also convicted of three counts of careless driving causing bodily harm for the three people who were seriously injured when his SUV collided with a classic car.
Iler was also convicted of a single count of simple careless driving, under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.
During a four-day trial last fall, court learned Iler’s SUV swerved one meter into oncoming traffic that was participating in the classic car cruise of RetroFest.
Judge’s ruling
“Mere seconds of misconduct can result in tragedy,” Justice Kelly Jackson said in her sentence. “The tragedy cannot be understated.”
The judge noted driving is a privilege – not a right – and drivers need to always be careful when behind the wheel.
And while Iler was not impaired, distracted or speeding at the time of the collision, his moment of inattentiveness caused by a yawn had “catastrophic consequences.”
“The court cannot ignore the consequences of the misconduct,” Justice Jackson said.
The Ontario Highway Traffic Act was amended in 2018, raising the penalty for careless driving causing death up to a maximum fine of $50,000 or jail of up to two years.
She cited three separate cases where drivers convicted of careless driving were sent to jail as a way of sending a strong message of deterrence to all drivers.
“Imprisonment is a sanction of last resort,” the judge said.
Family reaction
At least one of the surviving passengers in Sedge’s car attended court Wednesday, along with nearly a dozen members of the Doyle and Sedge families.
They did not show an outward sign of emotion or reaction during the judges sentencing.
However, outside of court, family members expressed their disappointment to CTV News.
In particular, they do not believe Iler is remorseful for his actions; if he was the family members believe he would have or should have pleaded guilty and spared them the trauma of a trial.
Regardless, they told CTV News, nothing will bring back their loved ones.
Iler reaction
Iler did not appear to react to the sentence.
There was a brief discussion about serving his sentence on weekends, but the crown opposed the idea because Iler does not have a job or a family to provide for.
When told he was going to jail Wednesday, Iler said goodbye to his family and kissed his girlfriend goodbye.
He will have to serve two-thirds of his jail sentence before asking for early release, according to his lawyer Alexandra Cardella.
Lawyer reaction
Cardella had asked for a sentence of a fine and probation but told CTV News after the hearing her client wasn’t surprised when he got jail time.
“He was expecting it given what the Crown was asking for we knew that it was on the table, given the precedent in the other cases, it was likely he would be getting some sort of a custodial sentence,” Cardella said.
The judge declined to impose a fine because Iler is no longer working as a registered nurse and has limited means to pay any monetary penalties.
Assistant Crown Attorney Ryan Iaquinta had asked the judge for up to a year in jail.
While declining to comment on the sentence specifically, Iaquinta noted it has been a difficult path for the families of the victims and the people who survived their injuries that day.
“Nothing will lessen the loss of Nigel Sedge and Jaimee Doyle or repair the physical and emotional injuries that have affected so many people and families because of what happened on May 27th, 2022,” Iaquinta wrote in a statement to CTV News. “I am hopefully that the end of this proceeding will bring closure to some affected by that day.”
Both lawyers asked for a driving prohibition when Iler gets out, but the judge sided with the four-year request of the defence and not the five years Iaquinta was seeking.
