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City of Ottawa loses appeal in drunk-driving crash that killed 3 students

by | Dec 23, 2016 | News, Ottawa & Area

Judge found OC Transpo driver partially at fault, despite fact driver of SUV intoxicated

Ottawa city hall in the winter

The City of Ottawa lost an appeal of a judge’s decision awarding $2.3 million to two plaintiffs involved in a 2008 crash between an SUV and an OC Transpo bus that left three Carleton University students dead. (Michel Aspirot/CBC)

The City of Ottawa has lost an appeal that claimed a judge erred in a decision awarding $2.3 million to two plaintiffs involved in a 2008 crash between an SUV and an OC Transpo bus that left three Carleton University students dead.

Vanessa Crawford, Brianne Deschamps and Mark MacDonald were killed on Jan. 23, 2008, when their SUV ran a red light and collided with an OC Transpo bus at the intersection of Heron Road and Riverside Drive.

Vanessa Crawford, left, and Brianne Deschamps, right, were two of the three Carleton University students killed in a 2008 crash involving an OC Transpo bus. (Family of Brianne Deschamps) (Family of Brianne Deschamps)

Vanessa Crawford, left, and Brianne Deschamps, right, were two of the three Carleton University students killed in a 2008 crash involving an OC Transpo bus. (Family of Brianne Deschamps) (Family of Brianne Deschamps)

Two other students in the SUV were injured, while the bus driver and his lone passenger were not seriously hurt.

In a decision rendered Jan. 29, a judge found the OC Transpo driver was partially at fault in the collision, despite the fact that the driver of the SUV was intoxicated.

The City of Ottawa appealed the decision, pointing to “overriding and palpable errors,” including what it argued was “a new higher standard for public transit drivers.”

On December 20, 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the city’s appeal. City solicitor Rick O’Connor wrote in a memo that he did not recommend pursuing an appeal in a higher court.

Pixellated shot of the wreckage.

Ottawa Paramedic Service team leader Stéphane Gareau said the driver’s side of the SUV ‘was encroached inside the cab of the vehicle by a good two to three feet.’ (CBC)

“As this decision turns largely on questions of fact, it is unlikely to be seen as one that raises the kinds of legal issues of national importance that would attract the attention of the Supreme Court of Canada. A further appeal to Canada’s highest court would, therefore, appear to offer little likelihood of success,” the memo said.

Source: CBC News