Tow truck operator denies role in teen’s death
Lawsuit alleges company gave worker illegal firearm hours before he was shot
A GTA tow truck operator has denied all responsibility in a lawsuit by the family of a security guard who was shot to death at a west Toronto lot for vehicles damaged in accidents.
Peter Petrov Simov, 19, died of a gunshot wound to the head from an illegal handgun on Dec. 28, 2019, while working at a vehicle impound lot near Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue West.
Simov’s sister, Nadezhda Simova, who recently became a lawyer, filed the criminal negligence charge against Alexander Vinogradsky of Thornhill and 2182586 Ontario Inc., a.k.a. Paramount Towing and a party referred to only as “John Doe.”
The lawsuit — which calls for $2.45 million in damages — alleges Paramount Towing supplied Simov with an illegally obtained and possessed firearm at work hours before he was shot dead.
Simova said in an interview that her brother Peter never owned a gun and had no interest in weapons.
His family said he had taken the minimum wage job so he could have time to study physics so he could eventually become a pilot.
Vinogradsky is separately charged with several organized crime offences in connection to a crackdown on the GTA towing industry called “Project Platinum.”
In his statement of defence, Vinogradsky said that he is the principal officer of the numbered company, which operates a towing company known as “Prestige Towing.”
“The Plaintiffs have incorrectly stated that 218 is also known as Paramount Towing,” Vinogradsky writes. “218 only carries on business as Prestige Towing, and does not use, and has never used, the name ‘Paramount Towing.’ ”
In his statement of defence, Vinogradsky also denies he or his numbered company ever employed Simov.
“The Defendants deny providing compensation to Simov, providing instructions to Simov, or directing Simov at any material time,” Vinogradsky argues in his statement of defence.
In their lawsuit, Simov’s family alleges that the fatal shooting “was caused by the negligence and breach of duty of care of the Employer” and that “The Employer gave Peter a firearm that does not have a registration certificate (an illegally obtained and possessed firearm a.k.a. a ghost gun).”
The Simov family lawsuit continues that “the Employer knew or ought to have known that Peter did not have a firearms licence or any training in handling firearms, and ought not to have offered any firearm to Peter.”
“(T)he Employer knew or ought to have known that Peter could pose a danger to himself or to others if in possession of a firearm, but nevertheless gave him one,” the lawsuit continues.
Vinogradsky counters that he has any direct knowledge of the events leading to Simov’s death, including providing him with an illegal handgun.
“The Defendants deny offering or providing a firearm to Simov,” Vinogradsky states. “The Defendants have no knowledge of how Simov may have obtained a firearm, or the status of such firearm.”
In his statement of defence, Vinogradsky also denies owning or having any connection to the vehicle in which Simov was shot or the parking lot on Champagne Drive where the shooting took place.
Vinogradsky does not acknowledge that Simov was fatally shot in his statement of defence, writing: “If the Plaintiffs suffered any injuries, losses or damages, which are not admitted but denied, such injuries, losses and damages are the result of Simov’s own actions and negligence, or the actions and negligence of other parties who are unknown to the Defendants.”
Meanwhile, a team of provincial firearms experts traced the gun that killed Simov to a 2019 sale in Florida, and a convicted gun trafficker.
Toronto resident Jeffrey Gilmour, 44, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death for allegedly selling the illegal firearm that killed Simov.
Gilmour, 44, was already sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for gun trafficking after he was arrested at the American border attempting to smuggle handguns into Canada.
Earlier this week, the Ontario government announced widespread changes to the towing industry in an attempt to stamp out violence and corruption and improve safety for motorists.
The announcement came as a half-dozen GTA police officers have been charged criminally this year regarding corruption in the tow truck industry.
There have also been at least four homicides, multiple shootings, scores of tow trucks set on fire and firebombings in the GTA towing industry over the past two years.