93-year-old pleads guilty to careless driving after crash involving CTV Kitchener reporter
![brock road crash A road closed sign is seen on Brock Road south of Guelph, Ont. on March 1, 2023. (CTV Kitchener)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/3/2/brock-road-crash-1-6296220-1677781122929.jpg)
A 93-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to careless driving causing bodily harm in the crash that sent CTV News Kitchener reporter Stephanie Villella to hospital with life-threatening injuries last year.
On March 1, 2023, Villella was at the intersection of Brock Road and Maltby Road, which had been closed and barricaded by police, when she was hit by the then 92-year-old woman driving a sedan.
At the time of the crash, Villella was gathering images of separate two-vehicle crash that happened on Brock Road earlier in the day.
Almost two months later, the driver was charged with careless driving causing bodily harm.
According to a provincial offences court clerk, the driver appeared in court on Friday for a judicial pre-trial. After pleading guilty, the fine imposed was $2,000 along with a driver’s licence suspension of one year. The woman voluntarily turned her driver’s licence in to the Ministry of Transportation and will no longer be driving.
Family sues
Villella and her family filed a lawsuit against the driver who hit her, an unnamed Guelph police officer, the Guelph Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police and the province. for a collective $15.7 million in damages.
According to the lawsuit’s statement of claim, Villella was standing within the road-closed barricade when, without warning, the driver’s car passed through the barricade and struck her.
The statement of claim alleges the Guelph police officer failed to properly secure the roadway and ought to have known the barricades erected were not sufficient. It also says he failed to properly direct traffic around the barricaded section of the roadway.
The lawsuit alleges the province of Ontario, the Guelph Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are vicariously liable for the negligence of the officer.
Villella sustained extreme injuries, nervous shock, emotional and physical trauma, the lawsuit says.
“Stephanie’s ability to work and enjoy the fulfillment obtained from being productive and a contributing member of society and her family has been permanently impaired,” the statement of claim says.
Lawsuit defence
The Province has now filed a statement of defence on behalf of the OPP, as well as a third party claim against Villella’s employer Bell Media.
None of the allegations made in the lawsuit, or counter claims made through statements of defence, have been tested or proven in court.
CTV Kitchener is a division of Bell Media.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6941904.1719423609!/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpeg)
BREAKING House explodes in Transcona; Winnipeg firefighters responding
The City of Winnipeg is asking people to avoid the area of Camrose Bay after a house exploded.
'Why did I have this surgery?' Ont. mother seeks answers after son's tonsil surgery
An Ontario mother said it looked like a horror movie when she flicked on the lights of her son’s bedroom to find him projectile vomiting blood after his tonsils were removed at McMaster Children’s Hospital.
'Deeply unserious': Vancouver councillor claims mayor turned city hall boardroom into gym
A Vancouver city councillor is calling out Mayor Ken Sim for apparently limiting access to a city hall boardroom and turning it into a makeshift gym.
Sask. Party catches heat after using Russian filmed stock footage in campaign ad
The Saskatchewan Party is facing criticism for a pre-election campaign ad. It featured video portraying Saskatchewan's scenery but contained some footage actually filmed in Russia.
It's one month until the Paris Olympics -- is the city ready for it? A historian weighs in
With just one month until the 2024 Olympics take over Paris, is the city ready for it? Some have noted concerns ahead of the Games, which begin on July 26, including the possibilities of crowding, extreme heat and a pollution problem.
Things a pediatrician would never let their child do
As summer begins for most children around Canada, CTV News spoke with a number of pediatric health professionals about the best practices for raising kids, and how the profession has evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic.
No charges for driver in 2023 Manitoba bus crash that killed 17 seniors: RCMP
Manitoba RCMP and Crown prosecutors will not lay charges against the driver of a bus involved in a crash with a semi-truck in 2023.
Cable car collapse in Colombia leaves at least 1 dead and 12 injured, officials say
A cable car in the Colombian city of Medellin failed and plunged onto a sidewalk next to a station platform Wednesday, killing at least one person and injuring 12 others, officials said.
Elvis Presley's actual blue suede shoes are up for auction
Now, fans have the opportunity to step into the King’s very own blue suede shoes as they go up for grabs at British auction house Henry Aldridge and Son.