A London woman now faces charges in connection with a collision that killed an 8-year-old girl and injured several of her fellow Girl Guides.
Alexandra Stemp died after she and nine other pedestrians who were walking along Riverside Drive near Wonderland Road following a Girl Guide meeting the night of November 30 were hit by a vehicle that mounted the curb. London police have said the same vehicle collided with another vehicle stopped at a red light, a light pole, and a tree moments before striking the pedestrians. Alexandra was rushed to hospital where she later died from her injuries. The nine other people who were hit ranged in age from 6 to 40.
On Thursday, police announced that the driver of the vehicle, 76-year-old Petronella H. McNorgan of London, is now charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death and seven counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
"It's a tragedy, my client will bear the guilt of that forever," McNorgan's lawyer, Phil Millar, told London News Today. "She is a really kind lady who is strong but is devastated by what happened."
"Our position is this is tragic - but it wasn't anything that was criminal," Millar added. "The police have done their investigation and decided to lay the charges, we're going to defend them."
According to Millar, McNorgan had taken her car in to be serviced the day of the crash, and work was done on her brakes. He says a mechanical failure is what caused the crash.
"She hit a couple cars and a tree trying to stop. There's zero evidence of any intention," Millar said. "The charges laid, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing death, it requires you being willfully blind to the risk to other people. It's not an accident. If somebody makes a mistake, that's not criminal. You have to deliberately be reckless or negligent."
"It doesn't take away from her feelings of sympathy towards the families and the weight she's going to be carrying for the rest of her life," he said.
McNorgan will appear in court April 13, 2022.
Millar believes the case will "take awhile" because of the wait for the mechanical reports, and there may not be any movement "for about six months or so."
He also said there would not be a plea deal.
"There's only sadness and grief my client is experiencing and she can only imagine how rough it is for the families. Her heart is with them and I know she is crying every day about this," Millar said.
In the days following the tragedy, Alexandra's family issued a statement that paid tribute to their daughter, expressed condolences to the other victims, and thanked the community for its ongoing support.
“Our daughter, Alexandra, was a brilliant and vivacious little girl with a terrific sense of humour. She was a talented artist who loved her older brother with all of her heart. Our family is devastated by the loss of Alexandra in such a tragic circumstance,” the Stemp family said. “There is no doubt that the emotional scars from the events of Tuesday night will take much longer to heal than any physical injuries sustained. Our family feels the love and support of our community. We wish to express our thanks to everyone that assisted at the scene; we commend you for your heroism. We would also like to express our thanks to the police and emergency personnel for their assistance. To the staff of LHSC, you are heroes. Your compassionate care for our daughter and our family will never be forgotten.”
