Driver 'misapplied' pedals in leadup to fatal collision on Riverside Drive, officer testifies
CBC
A London police officer told a courtroom Thursday that a "misapplication of pedals" was his early conclusion as the cause of a vehicle collision that killed an eight-year-old girl.
The trial of Petronella McNorgan, 79, heard morning testimony from Const. Jared Park of the London Police Service's traffic management unit.
Park spent eight hours investigating the crash scene at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Wonderland Road on the night of Nov. 30, 2021.
Just before 7 p.m. that night, McNorgan's Honda CRV sped through the intersection travelling westbound after rear-ending a vehicle stopped at the red light. Her car went through the intersection, struck a light pole, and a small tree and slammed into a group of 11 Girl Guides and two adult supervisors who were walking on the north side of the sidewalk.
Park testified that because the CRV's brake fluid reservoir was full, and because McNorgan had said her brakes had failed, his preliminary conclusion was that the crash was caused by what he called the "misapplication of pedals."
He explained this means he believes the driver pressed down on the gas, instead of applying the brakes. He inspected the brake reservoir at the scene but the court was also shown a photo of McNorgan's Honda CRV taken during a police inspection in a secure yard five days after the collision.
It showed the car's brake fluid reservoir, its cap removed for the photo, with the fluid filled almost to the top.
"I don't believe there was a leak in the system given that the level hadn't changed and it was still really full," Park testified.
Park also said the car had to travel uphill to continue through the intersection without slowing down, which was another reason he believed the driver was pushing down on the accelerator instead of the brake.
"There's been other cases of pedal misapplication, it does happen," he said.
The car eventually came to a stop on the south side of Riverside Drive, near a green space known as the Cancer Survivor's Garden.
McNorgan is charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death, and seven counts of negligence causing bodily harm.
More testimony from mechanical experts who examined the car is expected when the trial continues Thursday afternoon.