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METROLAND IMPACT SERIES - PART 2
Impaired driving a mistake that can last a lifetime BY ANDREW PALAMARCHUK
apalamarchuk@insidetoronto.com
E
very morning Kevin Brooks wakes up, there’s a wheelchair beside him that reminds him of his “nightmare”: killing his friend in a drunk driving crash. It began as a typical warm Saturday in June 2000. Brooks, then 21, was hanging out with his high school sweetheart and watched her ride in a horse show. He then went to his youngest sister’s ballet recital. After the event, Brooks attended a house party where he thought he’d have a few beers and then call it a night. But that never happened. “I ran into some old school hockey friends I’d grown up with, and one thing led to another, and we were down to have a wild night,” Brooks said. And they hopped from one party to another. At one point during the night, Brooks returned home to get more beer. He wasn’t yet “blackout drunk” and stopped in front of his car thinking something bad could happen. “We all have that voice inside that warns us at times,” Brooks said. “That was one moment where I was still consciously aware of what was going on and had that opportunity to make the better
Supplied
Kevin Brooks’ crumpled car after the crash that killed his friend and left him paralyzed. Brooks made the wrong decision to drink and drive 16 years ago. Now he shares his story hoping that others will make a better choice. choice and chose not to.” Brushing off the warning, Brooks continued drinking and partying hard. “By the time we were leaving the last house party, we were all really drunk,” said Brooks. “We were double digit drinks for sure. I’d say
well over 10, probably pushing 20.” Three of Brooks’ buddies got in a cab, but before it left, one friend, Brendon, got out and opted to travel with Brooks. “I was like the stubborn idiot who wanted to drive drunk,” Brooks said. “From what
I’ve heard, people were trying to get my keys away from me, but I had an extra pair in the glove box. ... In hindsight, too bad somebody didn’t just punch me out.” Brooks and Brendon were speeding to another party. “Going 110 to 130 in a 70 zone, just stupid. Beers are open, tunes cranked, totally not paying attention,” Brooks said. “I don’t remember what happened. I missed a corner, and the car hit a road divider and went airborne, hit the ground and rolled multiple times.” Weeks later, Brooks woke up in an intensive care unit and learned that he had been in a crash and that he was paralyzed from the chest down. “A little bit later, I asked about who was with me and found out my buddy Brendon passed away. That was the worst thing I’d ever heard in my life,” Brooks said. “He’s gone and dealing with that was a nightmare.” Brooks contemplated suicide but was confined to a bed, too weak to even move. With the support of his family, best friend and Brendon’s family, Brooks’ outlook began to change. “It allowed me a chance not to totally give up,” he said of the support. After a two-month hospital stay, Brooks was transferred to a rehabilitation centre See page A6.
PEOPLE
Couple could miss dream vacation if passport snafu can’t be fixed Name change seems to be a sticking point for Canadian government BY CHRIS SIMON
F
csimon@yrmg.com
rances Antoniou can pay her federal taxes and drive in Ontario. She just can’t travel outside the country, according to the Canadian government. The Newmarket woman last owned a valid passport in 1978. She never had reason to renew, until her husband, Phil Iacovides, began planning a one-month trip to see his family in Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean. They also plan to visit their son, who is working as a chef in London, England, for a few days.
However, a lot has changed since that last passport was used. Most importantly, perhaps, is her name: When her family immigrated to Canada in 1961, she went by ‘Francesca Palioportas’. In the decades since, she has obtained an Ontario driver’s licence and health card, paid income taxes and voted. However, when she tried to get a passport in preparation for the trip, the name change became a sticking point for the Canadian government. “I could go to Jamaica and those places when you didn’t need a passport,” she said, looking over documents in her backyard recently. “It makes no
sense. This is worse than silly. (Antoniou’s) been my name for most of my life. (The passport is) still being processed. It might not get approved. No one is assisting us.” The government says passports should take between 10 and 20 businesses days to process — once a completed application form is submitted — depending on how it is submitted. But Antoniou says she tried to file the application at a government office about six months ago and was told the old name had to match. See page A6.
Staff Photo/Chris Simon
Newmarket resident Frances Antoniou shows off her longexpired passport and a valid driver’s licence.
DOORS OPEN
Learn more about Aurora during annual tour BY TERESA LATCHFORD
D
GET CONNECTED
tlatchford@yrmg.com
oors are opening in Aurora on Aug. 20. Every year from April to October, Ontario Heritage Trust works with communicates across the province to open the doors, gates and courtyards of the most fascinating cultural sites for the public to explore. Fourteen of those hidden historical treasures are located in Aurora. Most of these sites, which are not normally open for the public, will be open for visitation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Aurora Farmers’ Market and Artisan Fair, Wells and Mosley streets Visit the Doors Open Aurora headquarters from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to pick up maps and brochures for participating sites. Aurora Armoury, 1874, 89 Mosley St. Built as a drill shed for the 12th Battalion of Infantry, it is the oldest purposebuilt armoury in the province. It was previously used by the Queen’s York Rangers. Aurora Cultural Centre, 1885, 22 Church St. Formerly the Church Street School, the Victorian design was influenced by Indian architecture. Aurora Public Library, 2001, 15145 Yonge St. The architecturally modern community hub evolved from the Aurora Associ-
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WANT MORE? For more information, visit https://www.aurora.ca/Thingstodo/Pages/Doors-Open-Aurora.aspx.
ation for the Diffusion of Helpful Knowledge, formed in 1855, later called the Aurora Mechanics’ Institute and Library Association. Aurora’s haunted precinct, Block 11 Join local storyteller David Heard for a creepy tour that will run 80 minutes and depart from Town Park promptly at 10 a.m. Charles Henry Sheppard House, 1922, 93 Industrial Pkwy. S. Explore the log cabin and the 1920s arts-and-crafts-style house at the rear of the Sheppard’s Bush Conservation Area. Cultural precinct Take a tour of the buildings, culture and nature in the precinct beginning at 1 p.m. at 22 Church St. A historical plaque will be unveiled at the former Wells Street School at 2:15 p.m. Hillary House and Koffler Museum of Medicine, 1862, 15372 Yonge St. A treasured piece of the town’s history and home to the Aurora Historical Society, it is the country’s best example of See page A6.
File Photo
Hillary House and Koffler Museum of Medicine is part of the 2016 Doors Open Aurora event, which takes place Aug. 20.
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