He was already back to his life of crime.
On his 31st birthday, Michael Okoaki had just finished serving his sentence for human smuggling and was subject to a deportation order when he was in a rented car, flush with cocaine and fentanyl to traffick — and with his pedal to the metal — was racing down Hwy. 400 at 212 km/h.
A family on their way to the airport didn’t stand a chance.
Okoaki slammed into them from behind, sending them spinning in a dance of death. By the time the mangled SUV came to a stop, a beloved 73-year-old grandmother of four was dead after being thrown from the vehicle, her son-in-law behind the wheel would require emergency spinal surgery, her daughter would also need to be hospitalized for her injuries, while her shattered husband of 53 years would plunge into a dark despair that sees no hope of waning.
And Okoaki? Leaving the twisted metal and flesh in his wake, the coward fled the scene on foot, caught an Uber and eluded arrest for nine months.
In Newmarket court on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failing to remain, and possession of 275 grams of cocaine and 13.5 grams of fentanyl for the purposes of trafficking.
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“This case demonstrates all too clearly the devastating consequences that can result from someone driving in a manner that shows total disregard for other innocent people travelling on our highways,” said Superior Court Justice Laura Bird.
It was about 3 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2022 and as they always did, E.B. — the victims’ names can only be initialized following a publication ban imposed by the judge at the family’s request — and her husband had offered to take their daughter and son-in-law to the airport.
When Okoaki’s rented Jetta hit their Pontiac Montana at 201 km/h, his foot had been on the gas pedal up to a second before the deadly impact.
“My memories are filled with the horror of that night,” wrote E.B.’s son-in-law in his victim impact statement. “A loud bang. Spinning uncontrollably. Screaming. Glass shattering until we finally stopped. Being trapped in the car and bleeding. My wife calling for her mother and my 81-year-old father-in-law jumping out of the window as we couldn’t open the doors — only to be confronted with his worst nightmare.”
It was her husband who found E.B.’s broken body. “The only thing he could do for her was cover her with a blanket,” the judge said.
“In just moments, my love was taken away, and I was left to try and piece my life back together,” he wrote.
Since coming to Canada from Nigeria as a 17-year-old, Okoaki had racked up nine convictions on his criminal record. In September 2020, he was sentenced to six years in prison for human trafficking, and gun and drug offences. “Clearly that did not deter him from further criminality,” Bird said. “In fact, Mr. Okoaki had been off parole for less than a month before reoffending.”
Bird accepted the joint sentencing submission from the Crown and defence of six years in prison less credit for pre-sentence custody, calling E.B.’s death completely preventable.
“It should never have happened. And would not have happened but for the fact Mr. Okoaki chose to use Hwy. 400 as his own personal racecourse,” she said.
Given an opportunity to speak, Okoaki rose and turned to apologize to the family, telling them that he wishes he’d died instead, and that he fled because he was scared. “I’m never going to recover from this,” he assured them.
Let him try — back in Nigeria, where more Canadians won’t fall victim to a menace who has overstayed his welcome.
“If there was any hope of him avoiding deportation,” the judge said, “that was lost when he committed these offences.”
As he was taken away in handcuffs, E.B.’s two daughters left the courtroom, closing the door on two years of hell.
Is it long enough? Of course not.
But they don’t have to go through a gruelling trial, and their shattered father can be spared the pain of reliving that horrible night.
“Now we heal,” C.S. said softly. “We try to live our lives. That’s what she would want us to do.”