Ontario's highest court has refused to dismiss the convictions against the woman who was behind the wheel of a car that crashed into the south London Costco, killing two children.
The Ontario Court of Appeal announced Wednesday that it was dismissing the appeal of Ruth Burger. She was convicted in June of 2015 of two counts of dangerous driving causing death and two of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The retired Western University administrator was charged after the July 25, 2014 crash that claimed the lives of 6-year-old Addison Hall and her infant sister Rihannon McKinnon-Bozek. Their mother, Danah McKinnon Bozek, and 3-year-old sister Miah Bozek were seriously injured. Rihannon was delivered by emergency c-section after the crash and died a week later.
At her trial, Burger testified that her foot had become stuck under the pedal while backing out of her parking space. Her car then sped toward the front doors of the south London Costco and went between two cement poles, hitting Danah, Miah and Addison.
Justice Jonathan George rejected Burger's claim and sentenced her to three years probation, 240 hours of community service, and a five-year driving ban.
Burger's appeal was filed in November of 2015. The grounds listed for appeal included claims that the judge erred in rejecting Burger’s evidence “on the basis of speculative conclusions made in the absence of evidence.” It also claimed the judge focused on the consequences rather than the driving “when assessing dangerousness,” and the judge erred by convicting Burger of dangerous driving “in the absence of requisite fault requirement.”
The Ontario Court of Appeal decision can be read in full by clicking here.