A teenage car thief at the wheel of an SUV that slammed into a cab and killed its driver had violated his probation multiple times before the fatal crash, a sentencing hearing heard Wednesday.
Cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti died in the crash at Portage Avenue and Maryland Street in March 2008.
The provincial opposition Tories said Lanzellotti might still be alive if probation officers had reported the breaches of the teenage auto thief, who was 14 at the time.
"This 14-year-old who was breaching his orders might have been sitting in a jail cell instead of racing down Portage Avenue in a stolen vehicle," said Kelvin Goertzen, Tory justice critic.
In December 2009, the teen pleaded guilty to charges of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm for killing cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti and injuring a passenger in the back of the cab. Sentencing got underway this week.
The teen's probation officer testified at a sentencing hearing Wednesday that her department caught the teen violating his curfew a number of times, but didn't report those breaches to police. The probation officer explained it's not uncommon to ignore some violations of young offenders.
"It was their policy, a policy of neglecting these situations and failing to enforce court orders that directly lead to this very sad and significant tragedy," said Tory leader Hugh McFadyen.
Premier Greg Selinger, however, said the probations department has changed the way it operates in the past year.
"The department now follows a new risk management approach where they allocate additional, more intensive resources to cases that are considered to be high risk," said Selinger.
The family of another man who died after a stolen vehicle crashed into his car said a tougher stance is needed.
Kamil Andrzejczak's father Zdzislaw died after his car was hit by a stolen Hummer in December 2009.
Andrzejczak said he's angered by multiple breaches by car thieves being allowed and said only one breach should be considered acceptable.
Andrzejczak also said that not reporting breaches teaches young offenders that there are no consequences for their actions.
The province said it is not currently considering a zero tolerance approach, something the opposition said should be adopted.
For the death of cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti, the Crown is hoping to raise the teen's case to adult court. The judge has reserved her decision.
- with a report from CTV's Kelly Dehn
