'They changed the route': Fatal accident leads to $7M in lawsuits against organizers of RetroFest, driver, police and municipality

The courthouse in Chatham, Ont., on Monday, April 18, 2016. (Michelle Maluske / CTV Windsor)

Two Windsor lawyers have launched civil action as a result of a double-fatal accident during a classic car cruise last summer.

Four separate lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the five people directly impacted by the accident during RetroFest on May 27, 2022.

The total value of the lawsuits seeks at least $7,050,00 in general and special damages.

The Accident:

On May 27, 2022, the RetroFest classic car cruise was headed westbound on Queens Line in Chatham-Kent.

According to court documents, around 6:55 p.m. an accident occurred near Dillon Road.

One of the lawsuits reads: “Suddenly and without warning, the plaintiff’s motor vehicle was suddenly violently struck head-on.”

The lawsuit also alleges the vehicle that struck the victims was “airborne” after having struck another vehicle first.

The Plaintiffs:

According to court documents, five people were riding in a 1950 Buick when it was struck.

“All the occupants were close personal friends who spent countless hours together,” the statement of claim reads.

The driver, 29, and a rear passenger, 28, died as a result of the injuries they suffered.

Three others, two rear passengers and one passenger in the front seat, were all seriously injured.

Although their injuries are specifically different, each suffered “...permanent serious impairment of important physical, mental and psychological functions.”

Injuries they are still recovering from and all three remain under care of medical specialists.

The Defendants:

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Chatham-Kent Police Service (CKPS), Historic Downtown Chatham Business Improvement Area (BIA) and Kent Historic Auto Club are the four agencies listed as defendants on all four lawsuits.

Brett Iler is also listed as a defendant.

Iler has been charged criminally as a result of the accident and is also facing six counts of dangerous driving.

According to Jennifer Bezaire, the lawyer for one of the injured plaintiffs, the civil matter cannot begin until the criminal matter is concluded.

The Allegation:

“For some reason they made the decision for the 2022 RetroFest to change the route for the cruise,” said Bezaire.

According to the statement of claim, in previous years the classic car cruise route kept vehicles on calm streets with “sparse or not traffic and lower speed limits.”

“For reasons unknown, the defendants (with the exception of Iler) altered, approved and accepted an amended cruise route that unlike in prior years, included directions for the participants to follow a route which required them to travel on a highway for a significant distance,” the lawsuit reads.

“And these vehicles are not equipped with seatbelts. They're not equipped with you know the standard safety equipment that we have on more modern cars. And so in our view, there's some negligence there for choosing that particular route,” said Bezaire.

The lawsuit lists 28 driving allegations against Iler himself, none of which have been argued or proven in court.

Against the four other groups, the lawsuit alleges:

• They failed to ensure the route would be “reasonably safe”
• They “acted recklessly and without due attention” by approving the new route
• They ought to have known the route “contained inherently dangerous stretches”
• They failed to provide sufficient CKPS personnel
• They failed to warn participants about the dangers and risks of driving this route in vintage vehicles which did not contain modern safety equipment
• They organizer knew or should have none the cruise was short-staffed and required further personnel to direct oncoming traffic

None of the above mentioned allegations, contained in the lawsuits, have been argued or proven in court.

The Chatham-Kent Police Service and Municipality of Chatham-Kent both declined to comment on matters before the court.

The Historic Downtown Chatham BIA did not return an email from CTV News.

Next Steps:

According to Bezaire, Iler’s criminal matter must be resolved before the civil case can proceed.

Bezaire said she won’t get to see the police file, photos and evidence of the accident until the criminal case concludes.

Anthony Giannotti is the other lawyer who filed three of the lawsuits in relation to the accident.