Driver guilty in QEW crash that killed Niagara woman
Commercial drivers have an obligation to be more cognizant of road conditions than other motorists, a judge said Thursday at the trial of a truck driver who plowed into the back of several vehicles on the QEW, resulting in the death of a Niagara woman.
“Driving a transport truck at highway speeds in populated areas presents an obvious significant risk to the rest of the motoring public,” Judge Scott Latimer said in Ontario Court of Justice in Burlington. “Mr. Raza had responsibilities beyond that of an ordinary motorist.”
Muhammad Raza, 35, was driving a transport truck loaded with peaches on the QEW in Oakville on Aug. 22, 2019, when he crashed into several vehicles that had slowed or stopped due to accumulated traffic ahead.
The crash resulted in an explosion and the truck and several vehicles were engulfed in flames, including a car driven by Elena Kulikova.
The 34-year-old Niagara Falls resident was found dead inside the burnt wreckage of her car, which had been pinned against a concrete barrier by the tractor-trailer. Seven other people were injured in the chain-reaction crash.
Raza, a resident of Mississauga, was found guilty Thursday of dangerous driving causing death.
In his judgment, Latimer said the defendant, who had logged more than 470 kilometres the day of the crash, demonstrated a “profound failure to keep watch on what lay ahead of the roadway.”
“This was more than a momentary inattention,” the judge said. “A better descriptor would be sustained inattention while driving a very large and dangerous vehicle on a major highway in southern Ontario.”
A witness testified at trial he was on his way to Toronto when he spotted brake lights on numerous vehicles ahead of him. Like other motorists, he slowed down in anticipation of the traffic congestion, and then heard a loud noise. He looked behind him and watched in horror as a truck rammed into several vehicles. The driver described the ensuing carnage as “like in a movie.” His vehicle was also pushed forward and pinned against a concrete barrier. He suffered significant injuries, including a fractured spine.
The judge said there is no evidence the truck driver slowed down as he drove into a “veritable thicket of red brake lights.”
“His long, heavy truck drove at a rapid rate of speed into largely stationary passenger vehicles that had stopped on the highway. He drove in this manner on a stretch of highway that is frequently used and where one would reasonably expect slowdowns to occur.”
Kulikova was a painter, piano and voice teacher, and environmental advocate who was well known in the arts community in Niagara Falls and Toronto.
Kristina Kulikova described her sister as a “true friend, brilliant businesswoman and a true inspiration of passion, drive and unconditional love.”
The philanthropist worked as an ambassador with Plastic Oceans Canada and donated a portion of the money she made from selling her paintings to the foundation.
Raza will return to court in April for sentencing.