The driver who struck and killed conductor Boris Brott has been found guilty on three charges.
The sudden death of conductor Boris Brott in April 2022 shocked the Canadian classical music world. Out on an everyday walk in his Hamilton, Ontario neighbourhood, he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. After striking Brott, the driver fled the scene. Someone called paramedics, who arrived quickly, but the 78-year-old Brott would later succumb to his injuries in hospital.
A “Shocking Scenario”
The details of the accident and the dramatic chase are both shocking and disturbing. Prior to the fatal accident, several citizen reports alerted police to a vehicle driving erratically, including on the wrong side of the road, on Hamilton Mountain.
At the trial, an eyewitness testified seeing Brott launched into the air on the impact, and falling on the ground. As the man got out of his own car to help, he saw the car, a black Volkswagen, had already sped to the end of the street. Other witnesses, including a bus driver, added their testimonies.
Police, who were already on the alert for the vehicle that had been reported, were a few blocks behind him as the car proceeded from Burlington Street, in Hamilton’s north end, up James Street. However, the nearest police car was well behind, with morning traffic in between. After the Volkswagen turned the wrong way on a one-way street, the police lost it for a while — unfortunately, the time period when he met up with Brott.
After locating the car again, and after the accident had occurred, the officer resumed his chase. Eventually, he deliberately crashed into the Volkswagen after it had raced back up the escarpment. The car escaped again briefly before running off the road, where police finally caught up to him.
Grimsby man Arsenije Lojovic, 35, was charged on the scene. After a trial before a judge, Lojovic was found guilty on all three charges, including failing to stop after a crash resulting in a death, dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, and breaching probation.
In making his ruling, Ontario court Justice Fred Campling called Lojivic’s actions a “shocking scenario of dangerous driving in several parts of the city.”
Brott is remembered as a leading and dynamic figure in Canadian classical music, particularly in Hamilton, where he lived with his family, and founded the Brott Music Festival and National Academy Orchestra of Canada. His loss was also felt strongly in his home town, where he served as artistic director of the Orchestre classique de Montréal.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily — classical music and opera in five minutes or less HERE.
- THE SCOOP | Barbara Hannigan Named As Chief Conductor & Artistic Director Of The Iceland Symphony Orchestra - May 15, 2024
- PREVIEW | The Philippine Madrigal Singers Bring IntenSIXTY To Toronto - May 15, 2024
- PREVIEW | Luminato Square Brings 10 Days Of Free Arts Programming To Downtown Toronto - May 14, 2024
