Hundreds of people expressed shock and dismay outside a courthouse Friday after an Ontario judge dismissed charges against a driver who killed three members of a family in a Markham, Ont., crash, calling the incident a “terrible mistake.”
Anthony Baglieri, of Vaughan, had been charged with three counts of dangerous driving causing death, but Justice Mark Edwards of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said in his ruling he was not satisfied that the Crown had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty.
Baglieri was driving a dump truck southbound, with a trailer attached, on Oct. 12, 2022 when he drove through a red light, hitting an eastbound Acura at Markham Road and Elson Street, north of Steeles Avenue East.
The collision killed two siblings, Pateeran Puvanendran, 21, and Neluxsana Puvanendran, 23. Their mother, Srirathy Shanmuganathan, 52, suffered critical injuries and died later in hospital.
Pateeran was a student at Wilfrid Laurier University and wanted to be a police officer. He died on his birthday. Neluxsana was a student at George Brown College and wanted to be a nurse.
In his ruling, Edwards said the actions of Baglieri were not criminal, based on evidence presented by a York Regional Police officer and his cross-examination, but the outcome was tragic.
Edwards noted that Baglieri was not intoxicated or speeding and he faced three possible distractions of sun glare, a driver lingering in his blind spot and emergency flashing lights of vehicles on the opposite side of the intersection.
“These distractions may explain why Mr. Baglieri missed the red light and caused him to tell his employer: ‘I thought the light was green,'” Edwards says in his ruling.
“Other reasonable drivers presented with the exact same circumstances may have responded differently but the law does not criminalize conduct because a driver made a terrible mistake,” he continues.
“What happened on Oct. 12, 2022, was a tragedy for the victims and their families. It was a tragedy that was without any doubt the fault of Mr. Baglieri.”
The trial began with a jury but ended up being a trial by judge alone.
The verdict sparked a protest outside the courthouse in Newmarket, Ont., drawing members of the Tamil community in York Region.
Puvanendran Poobalasingam, the father and husband of the victims, sobbed. He was surrounded by supporters.
“My God. My life is gone. Three lives. Two young kids,” Poobalasingam said. “Today me, tomorrow somebody else.”
The crowd shouted: “We want justice.”
Rojana Fernando, a cousin of the two siblings who died, said the deaths have been devastating for the family. She said Pateeran and Neluxsana, whom she described as “two good Samaritans,” wanted to serve the community and to help other people. She added that the cousins were raised together.
“We have 30 cousins. It’s very close knit. Unfortunately now, it’s never been the same since the two of them have passed away,” Fernando said. “There was no justice served. We need to get some justice. This is not fair at all.”
Aranee Murugananthan, a family friend, said the fight is not over and the family will likely appeal the ruling.
“We just want justice,” she said. “At the end of the day, we know the lives can’t be brought back, but we want this to be a fair hearing.”
“When you operate a motor vehicle, you have the responsibility of you being behind a wheel and there needs to be some sort of accountability … I really think this is quite unfair.”
Ehsan Ghebrai, defence lawyer for Baglieri, said his client is remorseful but also relieved.
According to the ruling, evidence suggests Baglieri had no prior accidents in his 12 years as a driver with his employer.
“I think it was a very well reasoned ruling. He took into consideration the entirety of the evidence, not just what was shown on the video,” Ghebrai said.
“He’s certainly remorseful,” Ghebrai said of his client. “He appreciates that what happened that day resulted in the death of three people and there’s nothing he can do or say that’s going to take them back.”
