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Ontario woman who ran red light at 80 km/h gets two years in jail for crash that killed 75-year-old
A judge has sentenced a Markham, Ont., woman to two years in jail for driving through a red light three years ago at 80 kilometres an hour and causing the crash that killed a 75-year-old woman.
Joanne Chan was found guilty by a jury in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice of dangerous driving causing death. On top of the jail sentence, the judge banned Chan from driving in Canada for 15 years.
“On a clear, cold, and bright sunny day in January 2023, shortly before 2:30 p.m., Jason Malik was driving his 75 years old mother, Zarina Malik, home from the hospital. They did not make it home that day,” Justice Jocelyn Speyer wrote in a recent decision.
“In the blink of an eye, their routine drive became a tragedy. A vehicle driven by Ms. Chan ran a red light and collided with the Malik vehicle. Zarina Malik died because of injuries she sustained during the collision. Mr. Malik was also injured.”
The roads were bare and dry that day, the judge said in her Jan. 29 decision.
The Maliks were driving westbound on Bur Oak Drive before the crash. As they approached the McCowan Road intersection, their light went green.
“As the Malik vehicle crossed the southbound lanes of McCowan Road, it was struck on the passenger side by the vehicle driven by Joanne Chan,” said the decision.
“Ms. Chan had driven at 80 kilometres per hour though the red light that directed her to stop.”
The traffic lights “were operating properly” on Jan. 14, 2023, the day of the crash, Speyer said.
Chan’s light “showed amber or red for at least 14 seconds before” the crash, said the judge.
“One vehicle crossed the intersection in each direction before the Malik vehicle entered the intersection. During that time, Ms. Chan did not apply her brakes, did not slow down, and did not apply any steering input to her vehicle.”
The speed limit in that area is 60 km/h.
The judge found that Chan “was driving aggressively during the three minutes before the collision that were recorded by her dash cam.”
She passed other cars using the left and right lane.
“Her vehicle was equipped with a proximity warning beeper that can be heard as she made lane changes, indicating that she was too close to other vehicles to safely change lanes,” Speyer said.
“When she approached a light to make a left turn, she stopped her vehicle so close to another vehicle that stopped ahead of her waiting for the intersection to clear before making the left turn that her proximity warning beeper sounded.”
When Chan went into the right lane to pass a van, “the sound of her engine accelerating was clearly audible during this manoeuvre,” said the judge.
Chan “did not apply her brakes until half a second before the collision.”
Jason Malik “testified that he suffered internal bleeding, renal trauma, and a bleeding kidney, and that he has recovered from those physical injuries after spending a couple of days in the hospital,” said the judge.
Zarina Malik’s “family has been devastated by her death,” Speyer said. “She was the rock and foundation of her extended family.”
Zarina Malik’s sister, Shamim Mahmood, “lost her best friend, who supported her and consoled her when she underwent treatment for cancer, and who participated in Bible study with her over the phone every night during the COVID pandemic,” said the judge. “She describes the loss to her family as profound, permanent, and devastating.”
Chan, 61, is a Canadian citizen. She’s married and has a daughter.
“Despite having achieved only a grade six education, that she completed in Hong Kong before being made to quit school and work to help support her family, she has worked since she came to Canada in 1989,” said the judge. “Presently, she works part-time as a cleaner at her church.”
Chan had four speeding convictions on her record before the fatal crash, said the judge. “Her record for speeding is troubling, as it reflects an ongoing pattern and a failure to modify her driving behaviour.”
Chan volunteers at senior citizens’ residences and at her church.
“She has lived a life of service and integrity,” Speyer said.
At the time of the crash, “Chan was driving from a senior’s residence in Stouffville, where she looked after an elderly lady, to her church in Scarborough, where she was to participate in a singing group.”
Chan is remorseful, said the judge.
“She has not driven since the collision and does not intend to drive again,” Speyer said. “She has experienced anxiety, depression, shame, guilt, insomnia, loss of appetite, and social withdrawal since the collision, and has been under the care of a psychologist.”
The Crown argued Chan should get three years in prison and a 15-year driving prohibition.
Her defence lawyer argued unsuccessfully for two years of house arrest.
“An appropriate sentence, that balances the competing interests in this case, and takes into account the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, is a sentence of two years imprisonment,” Speyer said.
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