‘Ms. Diallo didn’t have a chance:’ Lawyer says video of Westboro bus crash proved driver’s innocence

Solomon Friedman believes Aissatou Diallo should have never been prosecuted following a bus crash at Westboro Station which killed three people and left dozens others injured.

“All you need to do is watch the video,” said the bus driver's defence lawyer following her acquittal on 38 charges. “See the blinding sun, see the lights, see the road markings which should have been obliterated properly but never were, and you know, when you take that in concert with the ice and snow-filled gutter along the side of the road, Ms. Diallo didn't have a chance.”

Friedman says he and his client are delighted by Wednesday's verdict of innocent on all counts, which included charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and dangerous driving causing death.

“[Diallo] was put in an awful position by circumstances that were well beyond her control. She did her very best and tragically, unfortunately her very best was not good enough.”

The lawyer explained that a large portion of the Crown's case centred around Diallo's lack of training, which has since been addressed by Ottawa's Auditor General.

“This case is a wake-up call,” said Friedman. “[Bus driver training in Ottawa] needs to be adapted, it needs to be standardized, and every recommendation the auditor general made is one that should have been followed in this case, but unfortunately, only came afterward.”

Friedman did acknowledge the immense pain and suffering experienced by everyone who was riding the bus to Westboro Station on January 11, 2019 and their families. 

“But at the end of the day, Ms. Diallo is innocent of the charges and that was made very clear today by Justice Webber.”

Ontario Court Justice Matthew Webber said sun glare and road markers were a factor in the driver hitting a gutter then losing control of the bus and rolling onto the Westboro Station pedestrian platform where it struck an overhang. Webber said Diallo was driving somewhat over the speed limit but not dangerously.

A number of changes have been made at Westboro Station since the crash, including highly visible black and yellow striping near the platform's edge and replacing no parking signs with no stopping signs.