Driver who pedestrian found not guilty of dangerous driving causing death

A driver has been found not guilty of dangerous driving causing death. (Pixabay photo)

TORONTO— A driver who swerved his vehicle onto a Toronto sidewalk, killing a pedestrian, has been found not guilty of dangerous driving causing death.

Gideon Fekre had told court that he got distracted when a water bottle fell to the floor of his vehicle, and in a reflex he looked down at it.

When his vehicle went off the road, it struck and killed 31-year-old Kristy Hodgson, who was walking her dogs at the time.

A judge read out the verdict in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday afternoon, saying that while it’s not a reasonable decision to pick up a bottle while driving, it was more of a momentary lapse of judgment.