Lakeshore man jailed five years for causing fatal crash

A Lakeshore man was handed a five-year prison sentence this week for a motor vehicle crash that killed a Lakeshore senior last spring.

Trevor Hosie, now 36, pleaded guilty in December to two criminal counts: causing the death of Rose Lopetrone, 70; and for failure or refusal to comply with a peace officer's demand and knowing he was “reckless as to whether they were involved in an accident” that resulted in Lopetrone's death.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, Ontario Court Justice Christopher Uwagboe on Monday also handed Hosie a 10-year driving prohibition and ordered him to submit a blood sample for a police DNA databank.

Lopetrone died after a head-on collision in May, 2023, between two vehicles on County Road 22 east of Wallace Line in Lakeshore. The seriously injured wife of 53 years and mother of two was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Ontario Provincial Police charged Hosie with three criminal counts, including dangerous operation of a vehicle, but that charge was dropped after he pleaded guilty in Ontario court of justice to the other two counts on Dec. 29.

At his sentencing on Monday, the judge gave Hosie 518 days credit for 345 actual days spent in jail in pre-sentence custody.

In an obituary after her death, Lopetrone, a longtime hair stylist and active volunteer at a local seniors home, was described as a caring and nurturing woman who was “always there to lend a hand.”

As recently as Jan. 9, Lakeshore fire, EMS and police emergency crews responded to a head-on collision between two vehicles on County Road 22 in Lakeshore. That crash resulted in one driver being hospitalized.

The County of Essex recently completed a “corridor planning study” for County Road 22 between East Puce Road and Belle River Road. Construction on proposed design changes for what is deemed “a critical transportation link” between Windsor, Tecumseh and Lakeshore is expected in the coming years.