Parking lot survivor wants answers
Every so often this theme crops up: last year, a man was killed in a parking lot when a driver hit the wrong pedal and knocked him down. His friend, a 98‑year‑old woman, “wants answers” – but what does that even mean? The driver was 80 and the victim was 89. The woman is described as wanting accountability.
Is it lawyers or journalists who urge people to say these things? An older driver made a fatal error and a man died. The article talks about families wanting to sue, but money is not going to bring the man back, and how would taking money from the 80‑year‑old fix anything now?
Nicholas 18:58 on 2026-05-10 Permalink
Did the driver lose their licence? That’s a question I think we’d all want the answer to.
Kate 19:39 on 2026-05-10 Permalink
I looked up this incident on last year’s map but none of the reports from the time mention the driver losing their licence, although now that you mention it, Nicholas, that’s a question the journalist should have asked.
su 20:19 on 2026-05-10 Permalink
The story says the vehicle was a jeep, but the photo appears to show a Toyota sedan with rather huge impact damage. For that kind of damage to occur, the car must have been backing up at very high speed!
H. John 20:59 on 2026-05-10 Permalink
@Kate Do any of the reports from last year that you looked at mention the age of the driver?
The reason I ask is that this report says the driver was 80, and yet the report that it links to about the original accident quotes the police saying the driver was 60. The Suburban says 80.
Either way what exactly makes this newsworthy?
It was an accident, there were no charges, and we’ve had no fault insurance in Quebec since 1978.
If the driver was 80:
Starting at 80, and every two years after that, drivers have to undergo medical and vision assessments.
When there are concerns, the SAAQ can require a road test, impose conditions on the licence, or even suspend or revoke it.
The legal standard is fitness to drive. The SAAQ itself says that “very few” seniors lose their licence after the assessments.
R T 22:10 on 2026-05-10 Permalink
“Her son James Torosis, who is a physician in California, says that at her age, it’s a miracle she is alive.”
I’m glad they added that. Without it, as a lay person, I would have had no way of knowing that a 98 year old woman surviving a car crash despite multiple broken bones, multiple surgeries and multiple months of bedrest was remarkable.