Toronto taxi driver on trial for dangerous driving causing death of passenger

David Puleio and his sister Sarah believe their mother, 56-year-old Ines Puleio, would have lived another 30 or 40 years had she not been killed while travelling in a taxi on Nov. 1, 2018.

As the trial begins for Gurcharan Singh, the taxi driver charged with dangerous driving causing the death of their mother, Puleio’s children explained to Global News that Ines had been battling breast cancer, had finished chemotherapy and was on her way to start radiation treatment on the day she was killed after learning “her breast cancer had gone away.”

But in a cruel twist of fate, Ines Puleio never made it to her first treatment. Her son only learned that his mother had been involved in a collision after getting a call from the hospital.

“She didn’t arrive and they contacted me, asking me, ‘Where’s your mom? She’s not here yet’ and I said well she should be there, she left like an hour ago in the cab and she should be there and literally I put the phone down and within a few seconds, I got that gut feeling that something was wrong,” said David Puleio.

According to an agreed statement of facts read out in court at the virtual trial for 48-year-old Singh, it is agreed upon that Singh was driving a Toyota Camry for “City Taxi” on the night of the deadly crash. Ines Puleio was the sole passenger in that taxi, having been picked up at her home in the Jane Street and Finch Avenue neighbourhood at approximately 4:06 p.m.

At 5:11 p.m., Toronto police were called to a collision in the southbound lanes of Avenue Road at Glengarry Avenue. Ines Puleio was injured and died as a result of multiple blunt force traumatic injuries to the right side of her torso sustained during the collision.

“I was shocked. I was devastated. I just couldn’t believe what was actually happening,” Puleio told Global News.

Singh, who is being tried by Justice Phillip Campbell via Zoom, has pleaded not guilty.

Police Const. Janice Woronchak testified on Wednesday that there was nothing mechanically wrong leading up to the collision and according to the car’s crash data retrieval system, also known as the black box, there was no indication of braking.

Woronchak explained that the Camry which was travelling southbound lost control and struck a Ford Explorer SUV, a fire hydrant, a garbage bin, a hydro pole and a TTC bus. Five seconds prior to the crash, the Camry was travelling 78 km/h; two seconds prior to the crash, it was travelling 85 km/h; and at zero seconds, the car was travelling 94 km/h.

David Puleio told Global News from Barrie that his family hopes that justice can prevail.

“I think it’s very cruel. It’s unfair. This person has taken this second chance away from her after she battled the cancer,” Puleio added.

He and his sister are also anxious to hear from anyone else who made have been a passenger in Singh’s taxi prior to the fatal crash in November 2018.

“Anybody out there who has maybe even possibly had him as a taxi driver and has experienced any dangerous driving, come forward and speak up about his character.”

The trial continues.