'PTSD and mental anguish': Civil suit launched after fiery crash death of St. Thomas, Ont. woman
Every night between four and five in the morning, Bob Reid wakes up crying.
The musician is still traumatized after witnessing a fatal crash in October 2020 on Highbury Avenue between St. Thomas and London, Ont.
Reid was first on the scene after a head-on collision sent Cindy Devine’s car in flames. He tried to help free her, but eventually was forced to watch her burn to death.
“Every day I'm affected whether I want it or not,” says Reid. “A simple trigger like a lighter or a flame can do it. Or if I’m driving down the road and I see oncoming traffic, I'm paranoid that somebody's going to cross the line. Right away I think of Cindy.”
Tyler Besterd of St. Thomas was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for impaired driving causing death.
Cindy Devine, who was killed in a two-vehicle accident on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, is seen in this undated image. (Source: Facebook)Reid has filed a civil suit against Besterd and Certas Home and Auto Insurance. He is seeking damages totalling $1.15 million.
The statement of claim by lawyer Phillip Millar says Reid has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional distress and mental anguish, depression, lack of sleep and moodiness.
He also needs psychological treatment and counselling, and has lost employment.
“I'm a songwriter, and I love to do that,” says Reid, the lead singer of Bobnoxious. “I haven't been able to do it since because I like to write mostly happy songs or party songs, but I’m not much in a party mood.”
Since Devine’s death, he’s been pushing to make fire extinguishers mandatory in all vehicles by creating “Cindy’s Law.”
A much more extensive civil suit seeking a total of $3 million in general and punitive damages has been filed by the Devine family.
It names Besterd, Dejardins General Insurance Group, Carey’s Bar and Grill on Oxford Street East, as well as two unnamed servers. The suit claims the servers took no steps to take Besterd’s keys, call a taxi or find someone to accompany him, to ensure he didn’t drive when he left the premises.
Now that the criminal proceeding has wrapped up, Devine family lawyer Judith Hull says they can move forward with the civil suit. Hull says it will be a lengthy process which is still in the early stages.
The discovery process isn’t scheduled until May 2023.
“Punitive damages are designed to sort of punish the defendants for the conduct that happened that caused this death,” says Hull.
“They're also looking for damages for the loss of care, guidance and companionship of Cindy. She was an integral family member, and each of the family members will therefore have a claim for her loss, plus any other income losses, any other care needs that they'll have. All of those things are developed through the process of the litigation,” she adds.
A memorial for Cindy Devine remains on Highbury Avenue in south London, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)Reid says he recently experienced his first flashback on the Canada Day weekend.
“When I see fireworks, it was no issue and I was in my house about to go to bed and I heard fireworks going off, and I right away I went back to Cindy's car,” says Reid.
He adds, “I was there for like two seconds and then what brought me back out was exactly what brought me out when I was at the scene. Some lady screaming at me to get away from the car because pieces were blown off and it was popping like ‘pop, pop, pop, bang, bang, bang’ and it brought me to tears again.”
Millar tells CTV News London that while Reid’s experience was very unusual, civil litigation is common for people who become involved in a first-hand experience, as the unique circumstances he was involved in produced catastrophic results.
“I don't know what to say because it's not like I'm a gold digger,” says Reid, who is going to play a benefit concert for Cindy on Aug. 20 at Pinafore Park in St. Thomas.
“Everybody knows me. I do more charity work than most people. I do my best to help others. This just killed me,” he says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.