The trial for the mother of three-year-old Kaden Young, who was swept away by the flooding Grand River near Orangeville, Ont., will likely be delayed until the fall, over three years after the young boy’s death.
Michelle Hanson was scheduled to be on trial in early March on charges of criminal negligence causing death and impaired driving causing death but the proceedings were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a court appearance on Tuesday, Hanson’s lawyer requested new trial dates be scheduled in front of a jury.
Jury trials in Ontario are scheduled to resume on June 7 because of the pandemic, but the judge told court it would likely be the fall when Hanson’s matter could get underway.
Kaden was swept out of his mother’s arms by the raging current after their minivan was pulled into the Grand River in the early hours of Feb. 21, 2018.
The OPP said Hanson drove around road closure signs and pylons during the flood in the small community of Waldemar west of Orangeville.
The mother and son were just a kilometre from home when the minivan went into the river at 1 a.m.
As they both left the vehicle, Kaden slipped out of his mother’s hands and was swept down the river.
Despite a massive search for Kaden, his body wasn’t found for another two months in Belwood Lake on April 21, 2018.
In November 2018, OPP charged Hanson with impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death along with dangerous driving causing death but that charge was dropped in May 2019.
Along with opting for a jury trial, Hanson’s case will be heard in a Guelph courtroom, instead of one in Orangeville.
The matter will be back in court on June 8 at 9:30 a.m. to set new trial dates.
— With files from Global News’ Catherine McDonald and Hannah Jackson