Ont. transport truck driver charged in fatal crash that claimed local Olympian’s life opts for trial

A transport truck driver charged in a 2023 deadly collision in a construction zone near Shelburne intends to go to trial.

The Angus, Ont. man who police say was behind the wheel of a transport truck that crashed into a line of vehicles in a construction zone, killing a Barrie mother and injuring four others, in Melancthon Township in August 2023 appears headed for trial.

Sukhwinder Sidhu, 30, was in a virtual Orangeville courtroom Monday morning along with his defence counsel Calvin Barry where the experienced Toronto lawyer expressed Sidhu’s intention not to resolve the case and instead proceed to trial in the Superior Court of Justice.

The crash, which occurred along County Road 124, north of Shelburne, on August 22, 2023, claimed the life of Alexandra Paul, 31. Paul was a new mother, a wife, and a lawyer. Her 10-month-old son, Charlie, was in her vehicle at the time of the crash and was taken to a Toronto children’s hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Paul died at the scene.

According to investigators, the accused entered the construction zone that afternoon and slammed into a lineup of six vehicles, including Paul’s.

Sidhu was later charged by police with dangerous driving causing death and four counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

Police said three others were also taken to hospital following the crash, including a 67-year-old man who was airlifted to Toronto after being pulled from his vehicle.

Sidhu, who is out on bail, has made several court appearances, including preliminary hearing dates alongside loved ones at the Orangeville courthouse.

Paul, who married her ice dance partner, Mitch Islam, in 2021, had spent most of her life on the ice with Islam at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie. The pair represented Canada in ice dance at the world championships and the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

After graduating from law school in Windsor, Paul joined Barriston Law in Barrie after being called to the bar in 2021. An online profile said she specialized in corporate law, real estate law, and estates and wills.

Islam and Paul were inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in October.

Sidhu returns to an Orangeville courtroom next week. The allegations against him have not been tested in court.

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