A driver who swerved his vehicle onto a Leslieville sidewalk, killing a pedestrian, has been found not guilty of dangerous driving causing death.
Gideon Fekre had told court that he got distracted when a water bottle fell to the floor of his vehicle, and in a reflex he looked down at it. When his vehicle went off the road, it struck and killed 31-year-old Kristy Hodgson, who was walking her dogs at the time.
A judge read out the verdict in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday afternoon, arguing that while it's not a reasonable decision to pick up a bottle while driving, it was more of a momentary lapse of judgment.
Lawyer Patrick Brown, who is not involved but has represented victim's families in other cases, says he is not surprised by the judge's decision.
"The courts are reluctant to find people criminally responsible for acts of mere inattention or distracted driving," he says.
Brown says there is a hole in the legal system, either a driver is charged criminally and found not guilty, or charged under the Highway Traffic Act and slapped with nothing more than a fine.
He is in support of a private member's bill by NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo which would strengthened the penalties given to someone found guilty of a driving offence under the Highway Traffic Act that leads to serious injury or death. Instead of just a fine, the driver would automatically get community service, license suspension, probation and driver re-education.
"I do understand that in that type of conduct, maybe our courts do not want to give somebody a criminal record for the rest of their life," Brown says. "But there needs to be some kind of median then."