Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
National

66-Year-Old Woman Found Guilty In London, Ont., Costco Crash Which Killed Two Little Girls

The Canadian Press, 19 Jun, 2015 11:23 AM
    LONDON, Ont. — A 66-year-old woman accused in the deaths last summer of a young girl and a newborn after her car smashed into a Costco store in London, Ont., was found guilty Friday of dangerous driving.
     
    Ruth Burger pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm in the case.
     
    But a judge found her guilty of the lesser charges of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
     
    Burger's car abruptly reversed into the store's front doors, hitting a pregnant mother and her two young children last July.
     
    Danah McKinnon-Bozek — who was eight months pregnant and underwent an emergency caesarean section — was seriously injured in the crash along with her three-year-old daughter.
     
    McKinnon-Bozek's six-year-old daughter, Addison Hall, died after being hit, and her newborn baby girl died in hospital a week later. 
     
    After court, Addison's father, Eric Hall, said he forgave Burger.
     
    "I can't even imagine what she's feeling," Hall said.
     
    "I wish her the best and she can find what I can to move on. I never really had anything against her. It's definitely something that's so tragic, but so random too."
     
    Hall's voice caught several times as he spoke about his daughter's legacy.
     
    "One thing for sure with everything that's happened, Addison's moved on and helped other families," Hall said. "Really in the end, that's the biggest thing you can have with a situation so tragic; I ask everyone, if you can, to be an organ donor."
     
    Burger testified that she realized her foot was stuck when she was reversing out of her parking spot.
     
    She told the court that she began wiggling her foot to try to get it out from between the brake and gas pedals when the vehicle smashed into the store doors.
     
    Justice Jonathan George, who presided over the case, said he didn't believe Burger's foot got caught. Instead, he said he believed Burger may have created a rational explanation for what happened on the day while in a state of confusion.
     
    Hall also said he didn't accept Burger's explanation.
     
    Burger's trial heard earlier this month that her car accelerated from 11km/h to 48km/h in the five seconds leading up to the crash, a time in which she didn't hit the brakes.
     
    "Regardless of the decision, it's a sad day," said Burger's lawyer, Ron Ellis. "She's disappointed, she's surprised and obviously she's going to have to continue to deal with this process going forward."
     
    Sentencing will take place on Oct. 20, Ellis said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Standoff At Canadian Tire In Timmins, Ont., Ends; Suspect Eludes Police

    Standoff At Canadian Tire In Timmins, Ont., Ends; Suspect Eludes Police
    TIMMINS, Ont. — Police in Timmins, Ont., say a man remains at large following a day-long standoff at a Canadian Tire store where a suspect was believed to be holed up with at least one high-powered gun.

    Standoff At Canadian Tire In Timmins, Ont., Ends; Suspect Eludes Police

    Trial By Jury Requested For Man Accused Of Shooting B.C. Mountie In Kamloops

    Trial By Jury Requested For Man Accused Of Shooting B.C. Mountie In Kamloops
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A man accused of shooting a Mountie in Kamloops, B.C., has pleaded not guilty to charges that include attempted murder.

    Trial By Jury Requested For Man Accused Of Shooting B.C. Mountie In Kamloops

    B.C.'s Children In Care Start Behind And Stay There: Children's Representative

    B.C.'s Children In Care Start Behind And Stay There: Children's Representative
    The Growing Up in B.C. report by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and Dr. Perry Kendall says life for vulnerable children, including those in government care and aboriginal children and youth, remains challenging.

    B.C.'s Children In Care Start Behind And Stay There: Children's Representative

    B.C. Farmer Wants To Be Reunited With Pig And Horse After SPCA Seizes Animals

    B.C. Farmer Wants To Be Reunited With Pig And Horse After SPCA Seizes Animals
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A lawyer for a lifelong farmer says his client wants a couple of his animals back as pets after 51 of them were seized over concerns they were roaming around the neighbourhood.

    B.C. Farmer Wants To Be Reunited With Pig And Horse After SPCA Seizes Animals

    Ugly Spat Over Cost Of Business Travel Within Top Ranks Of CRTC

    Ugly Spat Over Cost Of Business Travel Within Top Ranks Of CRTC
    It's the latest chapter in an ongoing rift between CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais and Ontario regional commissioner Raj Shoan.

    Ugly Spat Over Cost Of Business Travel Within Top Ranks Of CRTC

    Canada's 'Paramilitaristic' Border Agency Locking Up More Foreigners: Report

    Canada's 'Paramilitaristic' Border Agency Locking Up More Foreigners: Report
    TORONTO — Canada's rising detention of non-criminal foreigners in maximum-security prisons amounts to arbitrary, cruel and inhumane treatment that violates international obligations, a disturbing new report concludes.

    Canada's 'Paramilitaristic' Border Agency Locking Up More Foreigners: Report