{"id":604543,"date":"2026-04-15T00:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T00:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/604543\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T00:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T00:32:12","slug":"mississauga-bus-driver-on-trial-for-deadly-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/604543\/","title":{"rendered":"Mississauga bus driver on trial for deadly crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Toronto & GTA<\/a><\/p>\n

Baljeet Dhaliwal has pleaded not guilty to dangerous operation causing death; horrific collision caught on viral video<\/p>\n

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Published Apr 14, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n

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\"TheThe 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 FILESArticle content<\/p>\n

The Brampton judge warned observers in the courtroom and online that the fatal crash video would be hard to watch.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBrace yourselves,\u201d said Ontario Superior Court Justice David E. Harris. \u201cIt will be troubling.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And so it was. But David Smith knew all too well what to expect. It took him months after the June 8, 2023, collision to watch the horrific viral dashcam footage posted online of the MiWay transit bus slamming into stopped traffic<\/a> on Derry Rd. near Rexwood Rd.<\/p>\n

Crushed in the ensuing mangle of metal was a grey Nissan Rogue being driven by his beloved sister,<\/p>\n

\"David David Smith, brother of Sharron Williams. MICHELE MANDEL\/TORONTO SUN<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard knowing that\u2019s the last moment of her life right there,\u201d her brother says softly.<\/p>\n

Mississauga Transit driver Baljeet Dhaliwal has pleaded not guilty to dangerous operation causing death at her judge-alone trial that began in Brampton this week. Attending court were Smith and his relatives, all wearing T-shirts with the smiling photo of Williams and the words \u201cForever in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams, 50, was a youth social worker and mother of a son who was on her way to work.<\/p>\n

\"Sharron Sharron Williams. arbormemorial.ca Photo by arbormemorial.ca \/TORONTO SUN\u2018Focal point of our family\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can\u2019t be replaced,\u201d her brother explained outside the courthouse. \u201cShe was a focal point of our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That morning, Kennedy Bening got on the eastbound Mississauga bus on Derry Rd. and said he could see the driver on her phone while they were stopped before she put it away. A few minutes later, he was suddenly thrown onto the ground when the bus plowed into stopped traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a red light. Every car must be stopped,\u201d he testified. \u201cShe didn\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crash sent nine people to hospital; Williams was pronounced dead a short time later.<\/p>\n

After the impact, Bening got up off the bus floor and went to check on Dhaliwal, who told him she was okay. Later, as they all stood outside the damaged bus, he said he overheard her tell her supervisor that \u201cit was brake failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s expected to be the hotly contested issue at her trial.<\/p>\n

In his cross-examination of Bening, defence lawyer Dan Stein warned the court that he would be showing the video to the witness.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 brother was prepared.<\/p>\n

There was no sound as the footage from inside the bus was played on the courtroom monitor. Bus No. 1308 appeared not to slow down as it travelled toward the stopped traffic before inevitably bulldozing into the back of the Nissan, pushing it forward into another SUV and a taxi, causing a chain reaction pile-up.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, the bus continued to barrel forward before finally coming to a stop on the sidewalk, its shattered window obscuring the wreckage outside.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

\"Eva <\/p>\n

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MANDEL: ‘Difficult’ decisions await judge as Frank Stronach sex assault trial ends<\/p>\n

<\/a>Accused was treated in hospital and released<\/p>\n

Dhaliwal, 49, was treated in hospital and released. Placed on leave from her job with Mississauga Transit, she was charged four months later following an investigation by Peel Police.<\/p>\n

Darren Ridings, senior manager for transit maintenance in Mississauga, said he wasn\u2019t aware of any brake issues with bus No. 1308 and the records showed there were regular inspections that revealed no problems. Asked if it was possible that a record could be missing, he said it was \u201chighly improbable.\u201d<\/p>\n

MiWay mechanic Jason King testified he was called to the crash scene that morning where he found a bus \u201cin terrible condition. The whole front of it was smashed.\u201d The police told him they were having trouble getting it towed because the brakes were not releasing.<\/p>\n

He could hear an air leak at the front of the damaged bus which he said was causing the emergency brake to be stuck on, he explained. He had another technician hoist the bus and take off the tires so he could reach and remove both rear brake pads.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything looked fine,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

A Crown expert is expected to testify Thursday on the state of the brakes.<\/p>\n

mmandel@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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