Trucker gets six years in prison for 401 crash
Asleep at wheel defence rejected as Quebec man sentenced in Whitby in deaths of four
A Quebec man whose transport truck slammed into traffic stopped on Hwy. 401 in Whitby four years ago — killing four people and seriously injuring nine — has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Although the penitentiary term to be served by 76-year-old Mohinder Singh Saini is significant, the victims affected by the ghastly crash are serving even more severe sentences, Superior Court Justice Bryan Shaughnessy said Friday.
“He will be able to return to his home, his community, and the comfort of his friends and family,” the judge said, noting that the injured and those who lost loved ones in the crash are serving a “life sentence.”
Saini, of Lasalle, Que., was at the wheel of a transport truck loaded with scrap metal that crashed into traffic slowing for construction, in the westbound lanes of the highway between Brock and Salem roads on the night of Oct. 2, 2015.
Court heard evidence that his truck was travelling at more than 100 km/h just before it slammed into a Ford Fiesta car that had slowed to a crawl in the middle lane, then swerved into the passing lane and accelerated forward, crashing into more vehicles.
Pickering couple Carl and Jacqueline Laws — aged 67 and 63 respectively — and Jesus Alberto Duran-Florez, 12, and his 10-year-old brother Cuauhtemoc Duran-Florez, of Mexico, died. Several others were injured, including the parents of the children from Mexico.
“The lives of innocents were lost,” Shaughnessy said during delivery of his reasons for judgment Friday.
At the outset of his trial in June, Saini pleaded not guilty to four counts of dangerous driving causing death and nine counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. In September, Shaughnessy found the driver guilty on all counts, concluding Saini had not been honest about how the crash occurred.
Saini insisted that a transport truck in front of him suddenly slammed on its brakes, causing an SUV to crash into the back of that truck; he said he was unable to avoid a collision with the SUV and the other transport. But collision reconstruction and eyewitness evidence refuted Saini’s version of events, Shaughnessy concluded.
The judge also rejected a defence position that Saini, who suffered from renal failure and sleep apnea, may have lost consciousness for a time during a “microsleep” seconds before the crash.
In Friday’s sentencing, Shaughnessy reiterated his finding that the crash was caused by Saini’s failure to pay proper attention while driving, despite the fact he had ample time to acknowledge numerous signs warning of lane closures and the tail lights of vehicles that had slowed for the construction zone.
“The offender’s driving was a marked departure from the standard of care for a reasonable person,” Shaughnessy said.
“This is not a case of momentary or mere inattention,” the judge said. “This pattern of driving constituted a significant and substantial period of inattentiveness.”
Saini declined an opportunity to address the court during the sentencing hearing.
In addition to his prison term, Saini is subject to a 10-year driving prohibition. The judge ordered that the driving ban begin following Saini’s jail term, court records indicate.