WARNING: This story contains details of a fatal crash on Highway 401 and may be disturbing to some. Discretion is advised.
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CORNWALL – A tractor-trailer driver from Mississauga whose rig plowed into a line of nearly-stopped traffic on Highway 401 in the summer of 2017 has been sentenced to three years in a federal penitentiary.
With a cell phone camera on him in the prisoner’s box, Sarbjot Pandher, 25, was emotionless as he was sentenced remotely by Judge Johanne Lafrance-Cardinal Wednesday morning (Nov. 10).
He pled guilty in February to one count of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
Court heard how Pandher had been driving west near the Bainsville ONroute through a section of Highway 401 that was under construction in August 2017.
Lafrance-Cardinal said Pandher had driven through that same construction zone a half-dozen times before and had seen it, driving in the opposite direction, another seven times prior to the crash.
On Aug. 21, 2017, a lineup of four vehicles and one tractor-trailer was travelling 10-20 kilometers an hour when Pandher’s truck smashed into the back of the line. He had been talking on the phone, driving well over the allowable number of hours, and his cruise control was set at 105 kilometers an hour. It was a clear day with good visibility and dry pavement.
“Mr. Pandher’s tractor-trailer smashed into the back of Ms. Oosting’s Dodge Journey. The force of the impact caused the rear of the Journey to collapse and crush forward into the front passenger compartment. The impact of the interior roof crushing downward struck Ms. Ooosting’s head, causing a medical decapitation, causing her death. This term refers to significant trauma to her skull and brain stem,” Lafrance-Cardinal said.
Kimberly Oosting, 32, of Riviere-Beaudette, Que. died at the scene. Oosting’s 13-year-old daughter, Summer, “thankfully, suffered less serious physical injuries.”
The Dodge Journey was “entangled in the front grill” of the truck as it continued another 60-69 meters down the highway striking other vehicles and causing four other crashes and secondary collisions, injuring two more people.
In the aftermath, Lafrance-Cardinal says several Good Samaritans stopped to help, including a nurse, who called 911 and covered the Oosting vehicle with sleeping bags, knowing the driver was dead.
Lafrance-Cardinal and Crown attorney Elaine Evans were emotional as Lafrance-Cardinal read a quotation of what the daughter told the nurse on scene.
“Summer kept asking about her mother. At one point she told the nurse, who was holding her head and neck, and I quote ‘Please God. If you exist, please save my mother. I don’t have a father and without her, I will be all alone.’ End of quote.”
Court heard through Summer’s victim impact statement, that her mother’s boyfriend at the time “stepped up to the plate” and “fought tooth and nails” to keep the three children together – Summer, her younger brother and older sister.
As for the Pandher’s tractor-trailer, the judge says there were no mechanical issues or recalls. “The collision was caused by Mr. Pandher’s inattention, his carelessness, his negligence, and his lack of his regard for the rules of the road or obedience of road signs.”
Pandher was 21 years old at the time of the crash and had his commercial driver’s licence for about four months. He is in Canada on a working visa and had applied to extend it. He had been working for Sunrise Freight Systems of Caledon, Ont. for 34 days before the pileup.
Lafrance-Cardinal noted Pandher’s moral blameworthiness is high due to his actions of falsifying log books that was “fueled by greed” with the “sole purpose of making more money.” His log books showed he had driven 84.25 hours prior to the crash when in actual fact he had driven 164.5 hours, “almost double what is acceptable. This lack of sleep and driving long hours may have been a contributing factor in the collision. He acted in callous disregard for the safety of others with whom he was sharing the road.”
Pandher’s lawyer submitted that his client will be deported to India. Lafrance-Cardinal believed she did not have the authority nor would she recommend early deportation given the penitentiary sentence.
In addition to three years in federal prison, Pandher’s driver’s licence is suspended for three years, which starts on the day of his release. He is also has to submit a DNA sample and is not allowed to own or have weapons for 10 years on release.
There is also a no-contact order while he’s in prison with the victims and their immediate families.