A date for the judge’s decision in the trial of a woman accused of dangerous driving after striking an 11-year-old Saanich girl in a crosswalk will be scheduled on Dec. 10.
Tenessa Nikirk, who is in her early 20s, has been charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
Nikirk who is in her early 20s, was behind the wheel of a black Mercedes SUV that struck then 11-year-old Leila Bui in the crosswalk on Ash Road at the intersection of Torquay Drive on the morning of Dec. 20, 2017. The crash left Bui with severe brain damage.
On Monday, defence lawyer Tom Morino called the crash an “inevitable accident.” He told the courts that Nikirk’s reaction time was hindered because, as one witness recounted, Bui ran into the crosswalk and that Nikirk’s view of the child was obscured because a vehicle was stopped on Torquay.
READ MORE‘An inevitable accident’: Lawyer argues woman who struck Saanich girl in crosswalk couldn’t see her
Dashcam video from a witness driving on Ash Road that morning showed Nikirk’s black Mercedes SUV overtaking two vehicles, an expert witness estimating her speed at the time of the passing at 95 to 100 km/hour. Morino argues that what the video doesn’t show is Nikirk beginning to decelerate as she headed up the hill on Ash with calculations showing she was only driving about 50 km/hour when she struck Bui in the crosswalk.
READ MORE: Dashcam video captures moments before SUV hits Leila Bui
Crown alleges Nikirk showed a pattern of troubling driving behaviour that morning including tailgating, excessive speeding, and texting behind the wheel.
On Dec. 10, a date will be scheduled for Judge Mayland McKimm to read his decision.
CHEK News
