A 海角社区官网judge has acquitted a man of all charges connected to a boat crash on Lake Ontario that led to the drowning deaths of two passengers, Megan Wu, 24, and Julio Abrantes, 34.
The judge-alone trial held earlier this spring came down to the key issue of who was driving the 30-foot speedboat when it crashed on rocks and flipped over along the shoreline near Tommy Thompson Park: the boat’s owner, Filip Grkovski, or one of the nine passengers, Edward Denkha.
No one saw who was driving the boat at the exact time of the accident, and the two men pointed the finger at each other.
The accident happened as the boat returned to a Scarborough marina shortly before midnight on May 31, 2022 after passengers spent hours partying at a multi-vessel “tie up” near Centre Island.
On Tuesday, Superior Court Justice Tamara Sugunasiri said while there were problems with Grkovski’s testimony, she believed him when he said he was not behind the wheel of the boat at the time of the accident.
“Even if I’m incorrect in believing him, other evidence that I accept leads me in a state of reasonable doubt,” the judge said reading a truncated version of her written reasons for judgment.
“I do not believe the Crown’s star witness, Mr. Denkha. Mr. Denkha’s unbelievable story of Mr. Grkovski pulling out cocaine while driving and flooring the throttle is only one example of his reckless relationship to the truth.”
She cited the testimony of two female passengers as having the most “credible and reliable memories” of the minutes before the accident. Both testified Denkha was driving within about two minutes of the accident. Their testimony also contradicted different aspects of Denkha’s narrative, she said.
“Their accounts raise reasonable doubt as to who was driving. For these and other reasons ... I must find him not guilty of all charges.”
The judge said she is mindful of the “unimaginable grief” that the victims’ family and friends have endured, not only from the loss of their cherished loved ones, but from having to relive the tragedy during the trial.
“I can imagine that holding Mr. Grkovski criminally responsible for their deaths, might give some comfort, although nothing can compensate the friends and family fully for their immeasurable loss.”
At the end of the prosecution’s cross examination of Grkovski, prosecutors indicated they wanted to argue that even if the judge had reasonable doubt that Grkovski was driving at the time of the accident, she could still find him guilty of the alleged offences. Defence lawyers Alan Gold and Ellen Williams objected.
The judge agreed with their arguments, ruling the only route to Grkovski’s guilt was for her to find that he was driving at the time of the crash. “This is because there was insufficient evidence to support the alternate findings,” she stated Tuesday.
Denkha was a聽licensed boater who consumed a maximum of six drinks, but likely four to five in a seven to eight hour period before the crash, the judge said. He testified on the trip back to the marina, he drove the boat at least once before the accident.
There was no evidence Grkovski knew of Denkha’s previous criminal conviction for dangerous operation of a vessel or any of his speeding tickets.
Grkovski was in tears when the judge acquitted him of all counts.
鈥淔rom day one our client told the police Eddy was driving and we have never understood why the police rejected that truth out of hand,鈥 the defence lawyers wrote in an emailed statement.
鈥淲e are very grateful our private investigator found Eddy’s criminal record and horrendous speeding record when the Crown and police kept denying he had a criminal record.鈥
They added they wanted to express 鈥渙ur deepest sympathies to the families of the victims but were concerned they would be uncomfortable even after the acquittals. 鈥
Grkovski, 41, was charged with criminal negligence causing death, bodily harm and impaired driving causing death and bodily harm.
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