A woman who still struggles with injuries she suffered in a head-on crash on Highway 11 four years ago says she's disappointed that the wrong-way driver has been acquitted.
Jennilyn Reed, of Severn Township, was driving on Highway 11 with her two children — an 11-year-old boy who sat in the van's front passenger seat and five-year-old daughter sitting behind him in a car seat — on April 11, 2018. They were heading to Cumberland Beach to register for soccer.
While heading northbound between Soules Road and Menoke Beach Road, Reed said she noticed a black Chevrolet Equinox SUV suddenly coming toward her.
Court heard she had little time to react, managing only to swerve somewhat to the right before impact. The left front of the van bore the brunt of the crash.
Reed, who spent three months in rehabilitation, broke several bones in the lower half of her body in the crash, including three fractures in her femur and a crushed pelvis. She now walks with a cane. She also said she continues to suffer from injuries to her small bowel, which she describes as being similar to suffering from food poisoning on a daily basis.
Her son escaped the crash with scratches while her daughter suffered a broken arm.
“There’s no reason I should have survived,” Reed said, adding that she’s disappointed with Wednesday’s decision. “I remember praying right before impact: ‘God, if you have to take me, just don’t take my babies'.”
Michael Grelowski, now 41, of Orillia, pleaded not guilty to two charges of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, resulting in a week-long trial last month.
In finding Grelowski not guilty on Wednesday, Justice Cary Boswell said there was no question that Grelowski caused the crash. The issue was whether or not he had the capacity to understand that he was putting others at risk at the time.
Grelowski was a heavy equipment operator working in Markham that day, court heard. He carpooled home in another worker’s truck, offering to take the wheel.
After Grelowski twice swerved out of the lane, his colleague took over driving duties, ultimately dropping Grelowski off at a Tim Hortons restaurant at Highway 11 and Coldwater Road where he had parked his vehicle.
On his way home, court heard Grelowski drove quickly through a gas station without stopping and continued onto the highway in the wrong direction.
Much of the week-long trial focused on the impact Type 1 diabetes and plummeting glucose levels had on the accused that day.
The judge concluded Grelowski was suffering from hypoglycemia at the time, which occurs when the blood-sugar or glucose level is lower than the standard range. The condition can worsen to cause confusion and disorientation.
Grelowski, who was also seriously injured in the crash, claimed to have no recollection of the event. The judge said he found that odd, but determined Grelowski to otherwise be a credible witness.
Sometimes due to incapacity, the judge explained Wednesday, a person is unable to determine the risk and is therefore not criminally liable.
The court, he added, also heard that a diabetic patient may not know the severity of the condition when blood-sugar levels drop, which can deteriorate quickly.
Boswell ultimately agreed with the defence that Grelowski was in a state of neuroglycopenia, which occurs when low blood-sugar levels in the brain changes the neuronal function, related to severe hypoglycemia.
The resulting compromised state impacted his ability to understand what was going on.
“The only alternative was that he was either suicidal or homicidal,” neither of which the evidence supported, Boswell told the court.
“Mr. Grelowski was at the very least confused and disoriented,” he concluded.
Following the decision, Grelowski indicated through lawyer Karen Symes that he was not interested in commenting on the case.
Symes appeared in court alongside Grelowski in place of Erec Rolfe, who acted in his defence through the trial.
She said he’s relieved with the verdict and is pleased that it’s over.
“But that doesn’t make today a happy day for anyone involved,” said Symes. “What happened was a tragedy and if he could go back in time and do anything to prevent it, he absolutely would. But he can’t.
“It doesn’t make what happened a criminal offence. Not every tragedy is a crime," she added.
Reed is also suing Grelowski for $6.75 million. She also said she has yet to receive an apology from the wrong-way driver.
