The bus driver on trial for dangerous driving causing death over a “horrific” multi-vehicle crash in Mississauga, Ont., three years ago has been found not guilty in a judge-alone trial.
The collision happened on June 8, 2023, in the area of Derry and Rexwood roads.
At the time, police said a Miway bus had collided with several vehicles that were stopped, with 50-year-old Sharron Williams declared dead and several others injured.
Baljeet Dhaliwal, the transit operator, pleaded not guilty.
On Friday morning, Justice David E. Harris handed down his decision, finding her not guilty of dangerous driving causing death.
In his judgment, Harris said Williams was waiting in “bumper-to-bumper traffic” for the light to turn green when she was killed.
Story continues below
“There was no forewarning and nothing she could have done to avoid it,” he wrote. “It was a cruel bolt from the blue.”
It was approximately 9:25 a. m. on June 8, 2023, when police were called to the multi-vehicle collision.
Source link
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story. Williams, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of a Nissan Rogue, was killed as a result of the collision, which was caught on dash camera. The bus could be seen plowing into two rows of cars stopped at a red light. Harris described the widely circulated video of the crash shown at the trial. “A shocking video from a neighbouring vehicle’s dash cam shows that the bus driven by Ms. Dhaliwal, without apparently slowing down, rammed into the line of cars at significant speed, causing a devastating chain reaction, crushing numerous cars in its path,” he wrote. “The bus did not stop or even slow down. It ploughed pell-mell into Ms. Williams’ vehicle at full speed.” The judge said there were two reasons the crash could have happened: Dhaliwal was distracted or the brakes on the bus she drove were faulty. Dhaliwal did not testify in her own defence, but her lawyers argued the brakes on the bus she was driving failed, and she had to use a hand brake to eventually stop the bus. More on Canada More videos Story continues below A mechanic for the Crown testified that the brakes on the bus were working at the time of the collision, but the defence called that witness unreliable. The Crown also told the judge it was their theory that the brakes were working, but Dhaliwal didn’t apply them due to a “pattern of inattention” on the day of the deadly crash. In his final decision, the judge called this series of events “bewildering.” “Taking all evidence together, what caused this accident remains unclear. Brake failure is still possible,” Harris wrote. “However, proof in criminal cases requires high certainty as defined by beyond reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt must be excluded. That standard has not been met here. The Crown hasn’t convincingly ruled out brake malfunction as contributing to this collision.” Sharon Williams’ son Danny spoke with reporters outside court “I don’t think justice was served but there’s nothing you can do; our system just isn’t set up right,” he said. “A lot of things could have been handled differently.” © 2026 , division Corus Entertainment Inc.Source link
