The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered a new trial for the man behind the wheel in a crash that killed a toddler and badly injured her father.
Seyed Moshfeghi Zadeh was acquitted in 2024 of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The Supreme Court ruling describes how on July 6, 2021, Zadeh ran a red light at Smithe and Hornby and collided with a sports car before ending up on the sidewalk.
Twenty-three-month-old Ocean was in her father’s arms on that sidewalk when they were hit.
Her father, Michael Hiva, was seriously injured.
The original trial heard the lights had been red for about 20 seconds and Zadeh did not press the brakes.
Judge Kathryn Denhoff found his three-to-five-second lapse of attention did not amount to a marked departure from how a reasonable driver would have acted.
The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the acquittals.
Get breaking National news
However, on Friday, in a five-to-four decision, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled the trial judge focused too heavily on how brief that lapse of attention was, saying “under the proper analysis, the period of inattention is a factor, not the focus.”
The five judges say Denhoff needed to consider the full picture, including the busy downtown setting and visible red lights.
“The Supreme Court of Canada has now confirmed again that momentary inattention in driving can still constitute dangerous driving when all of the surrounding circumstances are considered,” lawyer Kyla Lee, who is not affiliated with the case, said.
- Violent Toronto home invasion was ‘terrifying,’ real estate CEO says as police seek suspects
- An ICE officer is charged with assault for striking a man with a car in Houston
- Metrolinx sub-contractor charged following Toronto traffic agent death
- Man found guilty of sexual assault 3 decades after random attack
The four dissenting judges say Denhoff properly considered the evidence and would have upheld the acquittals.
The Crown wanted the convictions entered, but instead the court ordered a new trial.
Lee said both sides will return to court already knowing the evidence.
“The defence and the Crown both will have the benefit of the transcripts of the original trial, which the defence may be able to use to impeach witnesses if they say something differently, and Crown can use it for their preparation,” she said.
The new trial will be heard before a different judge.
No date has yet been set.
Comments
Comments closed.
Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time.
Please see our Commenting Policy for more.