A cardiac nurse who killed a vacationing Canadian couple in Point Loma surrendered on March 6 to start his 180-jail term for vehicular manslaughter.<\/p>\n
Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, but excessive speed on North Harbor Drive was.<\/p>\n
A packed courtroom filled with friends and family of the victim as well as co-workers of Kevin William Thomer, 36, listened on March 3 to the sentencing concerning the Jan. 19, 2022 deaths of Jerome Zimmer, 71, and Madelyn Zimmer, 69, of Alberta, Canada.<\/p>\n
Thomer was booked into the central jail on March 6 after his surrender and the sheriff’s department said his projected release is set for May 25.<\/p>\n
Deputy District Attorney Paige Woodward asked San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein to impose one year in jail, but without work furlough or house arrest.<\/p>\n
Woodward said Thomer drove his vehicle at 75 mph in a 45 mph zone in the 5000 block of North Harbor Drive where the couple was killed. They were not in a crosswalk as they crossed the street at 5:55 p.m.<\/p>\n
“He was driving too fast,” said Woodward. “Their lives are worth something. He’s still minimizing his conduct.”<\/p>\n
Four children of the couple spoke at the sentencing, with one daughter telling the judge “every day is a struggle.”<\/p>\n
“They were the best parents on earth,” said Garrett Zimmer.<\/p>\n
“I’m so angry. Their deaths are the first thing I think when I wake up and the last thing I think when I go to sleep,” said Carmen Zimmer. “One year in custody is not enough.”<\/p>\n
Carmen Zimmer held up a plastic bag of her mother’s belongings, which she said included her broken glasses. She said her parents’ bodies were delivered to her siblings in “two cardboard boxes.”<\/p>\n
Thomer’s attorney, Mehrdad Ghassemkhani, sought a sentence of one year but with Thomer being allowed to work as a cardiac nurse during the day and at a work furlough center at night.<\/p>\n
The head of the cardiac surgery at UC San Diego Medical Center told the judge how valuable Thomer is to the staff and “losing him will have a great impact.” He said he would rank Thomer in the top 1% of staffers.<\/p>\n
“I will bear this burden for the rest of my life. I will be more careful,” said Thomer. “I know the pain from this loss. I would have loved to have known them.”<\/p>\n
Goldstein told Thomer he should have not been speeding in an area he was familiar with and that he knew contained hotels. Goldstein said Thomer “drove in an angry manner.”<\/p>\n
“Your conduct is the main cause of this homicide,” said Goldstein.<\/p>\n
Goldstein placed Thomer on two years probation and gave him credit for previously serving four days in jail before he posted a $50,000 bond.<\/p>\n
Thomer pleaded guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter on Nov. 7. Goldstein turned down a petition last June from the California Board of Registered Nursing to restrict his nursing practice.<\/p>\n
Thomer did not leave the scene of the collision and Harbor Police officers arrested him afterward.<\/p>\n
Jerome Zimmer was a longtime educator in a Catholic school system, according to his obituary.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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