Hamilton woman ‘got her foot stuck on the gas pedal’ before crash that killed DARTS driver

A Hamilton woman mixed up her gas and brake pedals before a high-profile collision that left a DARTS bus driver dead last year.

A provincial offences court heard Tuesday the 76-year-old intended to brake, not accelerate, when her Honda Civic swerved off the road, mounted a sidewalk and fatally struck Sherri D'Amour, who was about to pick up a passenger at Main and Locke streets on May 5, 2022.

She got her foot stuck on the gas pedal," the woman's lawyer, Frank Genesee, told the court.

The senior pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death in connection to the crash. She was handed a $2,000 fine and a five-year driver's licence suspension, the maximum driving penalty for that offence under the Highway Traffic Act.

Her appearance in court Tuesday included a brief, but tearful apology to D'Amour's family, some of whom were seated in the gallery.

I apologize from the bottom of my heart," she said.

Justice of the peace Mangesh Singh Duggal cited that remorse as a mitigating factor in his sentence, along with the woman's age and history. She had no criminal or highway traffic record prior to the crash.

But Duggal said the penalty in no way, shape or form reflects the loss to the community of Ms. D'Amour." The 49-year-old was a DARTS driver for almost two decades; her death marked the first workplace fatality in the non-profit's history.

She was a person who, simply put, was a good citizen that made a difference in the community," Duggal said.

Court heard there were no mechanical issues with the car that struck D'Amour, nor did its driver experience any sudden medical episode that would contribute to a crash.

Genesee, the driver's lawyer, instead characterized the incident as a tragic accident.

Genesee said his client was driving home from Halton that day after visiting her adult son, who is battling a serious form of cancer. She lived near the site of the crash, so coming off the 403 at Main was a trip she'd done literally hundreds of times before."

While trying to switch onto the furthest right lane and turn onto Poulette Street, the woman saw D'Amour getting out of her bus and attempted to brake, court heard.

Instead, she hit the accelerator."

It wasn't intentional, it wasn't wilful. It was totally out of character for her," Genesee said of his client, who suffered retrograde amnesia from the crash. She would give up her life to bring back Ms. D'Amour."

D'Amour's stepmother, Mary McGreevy, told court in a victim impact statement that her daughter was irreplaceable, killed for no reason other than doing her job.

She was standing on the sidewalk when she violently struck and killed. Does this sentence really show that justice has been achieved?" she said.

While Genesee said his client would never drive again," that wasn't enough to ease the pain of D'Amour's father, who also expressed disappointment in the sentence.

It's disappointing, even if the driving penalty was the maximum," Bob Collins said outside court. Her loss is never going to go away."

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com