Cement truck driver pleads guilty to careless driving causing death in 2019 North York incident

A 62-year-old cement truck driver who fatally struck a 24-year-old pedestrian walking in a marked crosswalk in November 2019 in North York, has been fined $2,000, given a six-month licence suspension and has been ordered to do 100 hours of community service.

Giorgio Cipollone pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death, a Highway Traffic Act offence, on Wednesday. The offence is committed when a driver operates a vehicle without reasonable care or attention to others and causes death to any person.

According to a collision reconstruction report, Cipollone, who was operating the Mack cement mixer truck, was turning from eastbound Lawrence Avenue to southbound Keele Street within a right turn channel on Nov. 13, 2019, just before 11 a.m.

Adrian Balino was crossing within a marked pedestrian crosswalk from the southwest corner of the intersection to an island across the right turn channel. The cement truck driver struck and dragged the pedestrian.

Ballino sustained critical injuries and was rushed to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Provincial prosecutor Jamie MacPherson told the court that Cipollone did not sustain any injuries. Balino required multiple surgeries and amputations to his complete right arm, and part of his right leg at the knee. Four weeks after being struck by the cement truck, Balino succumbed to his injuries.

Balino’s parents told the court through a victim impact statement that they’ve suffered at the loss of their beloved son whom they called A.J.

“We kept wondering why it happened to him? Why was he hit while walking in a pedestrian area in broad daylight? We avoid walking across the intersection as much as possible but by any chance that I pass by there, as tears fall down, I silently say a prayer that may drivers be extra careful and mindful in driving,” they wrote.

A paralegal representing Cipollone said the defendant has been seeing a psychiatrist for post-traumatic stress disorder, that he relives that day through flashbacks and suffers from night terrors. She added that Cipollone has not stepped foot in a truck since that day and was let go from his job.

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Cipollone also apologized to the family of A.J. Balino through a statement that was read out in court.

“I can never put into words the depth of devastation I have caused. My guilt, shame and regret has been eating me up inside,” the statement read.

A charge of careless driving causing bodily harm was withdrawn. The maximum penalty is $50,000, a two-year jail term, up to five years’ licence suspension and six demerit points.

Ontario Safety League president Brian Patterson said there must be jail time for people who have taken a life. In 2018, the law was amended to make careless driving penalties stiffer.

“We want to see the attorney general look at all incidents in which there’s a fatality and re-group them so we’re not looking at old ideas and old penalties,” Patterson said.