A sombre Jack Tobin warned others today about the “nightmare” of drunk driving as he apologized again to the family of a close friend he accidentally killed.
“I truly wish I had been the only victim of my actions that night and not Alex,” the son of former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin told his sentencing hearing.
“If there’s any good to come from this very, very dark cloud, I hope that it will be this message to others: the consequences of drinking and driving are deadly, they are real, they are enduring — a nightmare from which you never wake up.”
Tobin pleaded guilty in May to impaired driving causing death after Alex Zolpis was pinned under a pickup truck during parking-lot shenanigans on Christmas Eve.
Tobin addressed Zolpis’s family by name, saying “how truly sorry and utterly ashamed I am for the unforgivable mistakes I made.”
He is to be sentenced Aug. 31.
Prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence and a 10-year driving ban while the defense has suggested a sentence of between 18 and 30 months.
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I feel empathy for both families. As for Jack Tobin he has to accept responsibility for his actions that lead to the death of his "Best Friend"! If that means living with the nightmare for the rest of his life....than so be it! He should have to pay the time for doing the crime. I was astonished to read about Jack's driving history...this young man is totally "out of control" it is really sad it took the death of his BF to finally admit drinking and driving is DEADLY!!! The fact that he is a Tobin should have no relevance in his sentencing! An answer to a question someone asked earlier "what is wrong with our justice system?" There is no justice system in Canada..."IT is a LEGAL system'!!!