Man pleads guilty to vehicular manslaughter in deaths of Canadian couple in Point Loma
A man who fatally struck a married couple with his SUV in Point Loma in January pleaded guilty Nov. 7 to two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Kevin William Thomer is expected to be sentenced to a year in custody, plus probation, for the deaths of Jerome Zimmer, 71, and Madelyn Zimmer, 69, of Canada.
San Diego Harbor Police said Thomer was speeding west on North Harbor Drive west of Nimitz Boulevard at about 6 p.m. Jan. 19 when he struck the Zimmers, who died at the scene.
Police said the couple were crossing the road when they were hit.
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Thomer was booked into county jail in March on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter but has remained out of custody for much of the time since his arrest.
He pleaded guilty this week in San Diego County Superior Court and is set to be sentenced in January.
The Zimmers lived in Devon, southwest of Edmonton in Canada’s Alberta province, the San Diego County medical examiner’s office said.
According to family and friends, Jerry Zimmer was a longtime educator who once served as superintendent of a Catholic school system near Edmonton.
According to an obituary, the Zimmers were survived by four children and 11 grandchildren.