Ont. man convicted of driving Tesla 196 km/h while impaired awaits bail decision pending appeal

A Wasaga Beach man convicted of dangerous and impaired driving causing death in 2022 crash awaits a bail decision pending an appeal of his conviction.

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A Wasaga Beach, Ont. man convicted of dangerous and impaired driving causing death in a horrific April 2022 crash awaits a bail decision pending an appeal of his conviction.

Jefferson Dance, 48, remains in custody awaiting a judgement on whether he will be granted bail pending an appeal of his conviction in June for dangerous and impaired driving causing the death of 62-year-old Jim Lynne along Mosley Street in Wasaga Beach.

Dance was found guilty of driving his Tesla Model Y and reaching a top speed of 196 km/h with about four times the legal limit of alcohol in his system, before crashing into the Nissan Juke driven by Lynne, who was out delivering pizzas at about midnight April 9, 2022.

The bail hearing, at the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Toronto, took place a month after Dance filed an appeal, two days after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The judge reserved his decision.

Dance’s appeal lawyer, Calvin Barry, said he hopes his client can get a new trial, arguing Justice Mark Edwards failed to properly consider arguments made by the defence, in trial earlier this year, that the Tesla driven by Dance may have malfunctioned due to a defect that caused unanticipated acceleration in the moments leading up to the crash. The entire crash and the final seconds of the drive was recorded by the vehicle’s onboard cameras.

The defence said Justice Edwards erred in his decision finding the speeds Dance travelled that night as an aggravating factor in his decision, while not giving appropriate consideration to a letter presented to the court by the defence claiming the Tesla Model Y may have had a defect similar to what was being investigated in the U.S.

The defence did not call an expert witness to back up its claims in trial and Dance, who was out drinking with a friend for hours that night, was convicted of both charges.

Lynne’s family is imploring Dance to take responsibility for his actions.

A decision on bail pending appeal is expected in the next day, according to his lawyer.