Driver sentenced to jail and probation for fatally striking Canadian couple in Point Loma

A man who was driving an SUV that fatally struck a married couple who were walking in Point Loma last year was sentenced March 3 to six months in San Diego County Jail, plus two years of probation.

Kevin William Thomer, 36, pleaded guilty in November to two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for the Jan. 19, 2022, deaths of Jerome Zimmer, 71, and Madelyn Zimmer, 69, of Alberta, Canada.

At about 6 p.m. that day, Thomer was speeding west on North Harbor Drive west of Nimitz Boulevard when his vehicle struck the Zimmers, who died at the scene, according to San Diego Harbor Police.

Alcohol and drugs were not factors in the crash, according to authorities.

Deputy District Attorney Paige Woodward said that just before the fatalities, Thomer was involved in a road rage dispute with another driver, then sped down Harbor Boulevard at 75 mph in a 40 mph zone. The prosecutor, who sought a sentence of one year, said Thomer regularly drove down that stretch of road to and from his workplace and should have been aware of the busy pedestrian traffic in the area.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein told the Zimmers’ family members in attendance that he had encouraged the sides to reach a plea deal in the case. He said Thomer’s conduct “was the main cause of this horrific homicide,” but he said he didn’t believe the case could go to trial when jurors might take into account that the Zimmers were walking out of a crosswalk in the dark “in a very hazardous area.”

Thomer was originally arrested last March but has remained out of custody on $50,000 bail for much of the time since. He was ordered to surrender to begin his custodial term.