House arrest sentence for crosswalk death of child

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This article was published 23/07/2021 (1867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman responsible for a crosswalk collision that killed a four-year-old girl has been sentenced to 90 days house arrest and prohibited from driving for two years.

Nicole Knott, 32, previously pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving causing death for the March 18, 2019, collision.

Knott had only a learner’s permit at the time, requiring she be supervised by a fully licensed driver when behind the wheel. Knott had just dropped her partner off at work and was alone in her SUV at the time of the crash.

“Ms. Knott intentionally got behind the wheel of a motor vehicle when she knew she was not permitted by law to be driving without a supervising driver,” provincial court Judge Kael McKenzie said at a sentencing hearing last week.

“Ms. Knott had no business being behind the wheel of that vehicle in the first place.”

Galila Bruk and her mother Genet Bruk were on their way to pick up Galila’s older brother at Dufferin School when they were struck by Knott’s vehicle as it drove through a lighted crosswalk at Isabel Street and Alexander Avenue.

The family had arrived in Canada from Eritrea just two months prior.

Galila died in hospital a short time later; Genet was left with life-altering injuries.

Security video in the area showed the crosswalk lights had been activated for 11 seconds before Knott struck Galila and her mother.

A police collision reconstructionist estimated Knott was travelling 54 km/h at the time of the collision, four kilometres over the posted speed limit, and would have been 156 metres from the crosswalk when the lights were activated.

Knott’s lawyer, Kristen Jones, previously told court her client had no memory of the moments leading up to the crash.

Knott did not apply the brakes until after hitting Galila and Genet, and kept driving until the next intersection when a witness stopped her and said she had hit someone.

Knott had a cellphone in her hand at the time, but there was no evidence she had been texting or answering a call, McKenzie said.

“While I can’t say she was using it, she did have it in her hand, which is also impermissible under the Highway Traffic Act,” McKenzie said. “Only Ms. Knott knows what was distracting her, if she can recall… Eleven seconds is a long time not to be looking at what is on the roadway in front of you.”

Galila’s father, Rezene, brought his family to Canada for a better life, “which is now marked by anger, guilt and despair,” McKenzie said. Genet, who lives in constant pain and suffers ongoing memory issues as a result of the crash is “forever changed… sentenced to carry this despair for a lifetime.”

In a letter previously provided to court, Knott apologized for the pain she brought the Bruk family.

“It broke me,” Knott wrote. “There were times I have asked God to take me instead of your child.”

McKenzie said the “egregious” nature of Knott’s driving demanded a jail sentence, but ruled it could be served in the community, given her role as sole care provider for her two young children and her father, and her ongoing treatment for an opiate addiction.

“We know momentary lapses occur when people are driving. We know that drivers are human and make mistakes,” McKenzie said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca