Driver in fatal 2017 highway crash northwest of Saskatoon guilty of criminal negligence causing death

A man driving a truck that collided head-on with a family returning to Saskatoon killing a father and daughter is guilty of criminal negligence causing death.

Braydon Wolfe is also guilty of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Richard Danyliukruled earlier this week.

The crash happened in August2017 on Highway 16 northwest Saskatoon. Wolfe's judge-alone trial happened in October.

Court heard that Wolfe was driving the wrong way on the divided highway around 1 a.m. CST when his half-ton hit a Toyota sedan.Mohammad Niazi, 62, and daughter Zohal, 25, died in the crash.

Mohammad's wife Sangin Niazi survived.

Various witnesses testified that they saw the half-ton truck travelling on the wrong side of the highway.

In a 58-page decision, Justice Danyliuksaid no one factor led to his judgment.

"Taken singly, any one of these matters might not be sufficientto ground criminal liability on the charges of criminal negligence," he wrote.

"He drove on the wrong side of a divided major highwayHe ignored all signs and all other warnings and clues that he was doing so."

• RCMP testimony at trial describes chaotic scene at crash near Langham that killed father, daughter

Wolfe never testified, so there was never any explanation offered by the defence as to how he came to be in the wrong lane.

An RCMP collision analyst detailed exactly what happens when a car and truck collide head-on at highway speed.

The force of the impact was such that it friction-burned the shoulder strap webbing on seatbelts, said Cpl. Douglas Green. He said the Niazis' car had an "event data recorder" which took readings at the time of the collision.

It showed that the Toyota lost 32 km/h in speed "in the millisecond" when they met.

Modern cars and trucks come with a sophisticated systemof airbags, padding, seatbelts and safety pillars to keep peoplesafe. In a violent accident like this, however, Green said there was "intrusion into occupant life-space."

The truck's floorboards were ripped from beneath the driver's feet, he said.

RCMPon scene noted there were beer cans near the crash scene, and the smell of alcohol, but no breath or blood samples were taken. Wolfe was thrown from his truck and almost had a leg severed.

Danyliukconcluded that Wolfe had consumed some alcohol before the crash, but he could not say how much or whether it impaired his ability to drive.

Wolfe returns to court in February for sentencing.