A Dartmouth woman is suing Halifax Transit, one of its drivers, and the estate of a woman killed in a head-on collision last year.
In a notice of action filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court last Friday, Haille Gough claims she was on a Halifax Transit bus on Cow Bay Road in Eastern Passage on Oct. 4, 2021 just after 4pm, when it collided with Sharon Harrett’s 2001 Ford Focus.
“The Plaintiff states that she was anticipating her exit when the bus and Ms. Harrett’s motor vehicle were involved in a head on collision. The force of the collision caused the Plaintiff to fall forward and strike a stationary post on the bus,” Gough’s lawyer, Jamie MacGillivray wrote in the notice of action.
“The Plaintiff further states that Ms. Harrett died as a result of the injuries she sustained in the collision.”
RCMP are currently on scene of a motor vehicle collision on Cow Bay Road. Cow Bay Road is currently closed in both directions and traffic is being directed up Briarwood Drive and Ridding Road. Please advise your listeners to avoid this area. #hfxtraffic pic.twitter.com/52lnGDdlQr
— WaterfrontMdaHfx (@HfxMda) October 4, 2021
As Paul Hollingsworth reported for CTV Atlantic, it was the second death in the family in just a few months. Wayne Harrett, Sharon’s brother and the founder of Seaside FM, died of cancer in August 2021.
In a news release the next day, Halifax-district RCMP said the 65-year-old driver of the car in the collision “was transported to hospital by EHS where she succumbed to her injuries.”
“The bus driver and 10 passengers were uninjured,” the RCMP said.
But Gough is claiming “she has suffered loss and grievous bodily harm.”
“The Plaintiff sustained injuries, including, but not limited to, straining, tearing, and trauma to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in her neck, shoulders, back, and knees,” MacGillivray wrote.
None of the claims in the notice of action has been tested in court, and none of the defendants has filed a defence.
Gough claims Harrett, Halifax Transit, and transit operator Peter MacNeill were all negligent in the crash.
Harrett, Gough claims, failed to operator her vehicle in “a careful and prudent manner having regard to all the circumstances,” “failed to keep and maintain a proper or any look out,” and failed to operate her vehicle “to the right of the solid double line,” among other actions.
Similarly, Gough claims MacNeill “failed to operate the bus in a careful and prudent manner having regard to all the circumstances,” “failed to keep and maintain a proper or any look out,” and “failed to slacken speed or to stop or take any steps to avoid a collision when it was apparent or ought have been apparent that a collision was imminent.”
HRM is “vicariously liable” for MacNeill’s actions, MacGillivray wrote.