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A Mississauga bus driver has been found not guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of motorist Sharron Williams.
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At 9:30 a.m. on June 9, 2023, the beloved 50-year-old mother and youth social worker was on her way to work and waiting for the light to turn green on Derry Rd. when she was suddenly slammed from behind.
The aftermath of a multi-vehicle crash on Derry Rd., just west of Rexwood Rd., in Mississauga on Thursday, June 8, 2023. / Photo by ERNEST DOROSZUK /TORONTO SUN
“There was no forewarning and nothing she could have done to avoid it. It was a cruel bolt from the blue,” said Superior Court Justice David E. Harris in his ruling in a Brampton courtroom Friday.
Video showed “passengers being tossed around the bus like rag dolls during the collision.” Harris said. The chain-reaction crash sent nine people to hospital; Williams was pronounced dead a short time later.
Driver Baljeet Dhaliwal pleaded not guilty to dangerous operation causing death at her judge-alone trial.
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‘Perplexing case’
“The bus did not stop or even slow down. It ploughed pell-mell into Ms. Williams’ vehicle at full speed. It was slowed for the initial several seconds only by impacting the virtually stationary vehicles in front of it. Only after those six-seven seconds went by — virtually an eternity in driving terms — was there any evidence of the brakes being applied, slowing the pathway of the bus,” the judge noted.
“The total absence of braking both before the collision and during it for several more seconds is what makes this such a perplexing case. It calls out for an explanation.”
The Crown had argued Dhaliwal was distracted and on her phone – but Harris said that was well before the collision and video inside the bus showed her attentive with her hands on the wheel just moments before the crash.
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Play VideoPossible brake failure
He found the possibility of brake failure was more likely but that couldn’t be determined for certain due to a “botched inspection” of the bus: it wasn’t towed for inspection until three weeks later and during the tow, the front brakes locked up and caught fire, destroying the entire brake system. The ensuing inspection without any police supervision was “substantially inadequate and superficial,” Harris said.
A “completely misconceived” decision was made to destroy the bus with no explanation in March 2025, he added, so no more in-depth inspection could take place.
“Taking all the evidence together, the mystery of what caused this accident has not been solved. Brake failure remains a viable possibility,” Harris concluded. “The Crown has failed to convincingly remove brake malfunction as the cause of the collision.
“There is a reasonable doubt that Ms. Dhaliwal was responsible for the collision. For these reasons, the accused Ms. Dhaliwal must be found not guilty.”
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