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Woman, 93, pleads guilty in crash that seriously injured CTV reporter

Court official says woman who struck Stephanie Villella in March 2023 crash turned in her licence and will no longer be driving
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CTV reporter Stephan Villella and family are suing the OPP, Guelph police and others after being struck be a car while covering an earlier crash (seen here).

A 93-year-old woman charged in a pedestrian crash that seriously injured a CTV Kitchener reporter last year in Puslinch will no longer go behind the wheel.

According to a provincial offences court clerk, the woman pleaded guilty to careless driving causing bodily harm last week.

This, in connection with the crash near Brock and Maltby Road on March 1, 2023, which injured Stephanie Villella, who was on scene reporting on a previous crash.

In a statement of claim for a $15.7 million lawsuit filed by Stephanie Villella and her family, it states the reporter was standing within the closed barricade, when without any warning, the defendant … vehicle passed through the barricade and struck Stephanie." 

The woman was issued a $2,000 fine, as well as a licence suspension of one year.

But the clerk said the woman voluntarily turned in her licence to the Ministry of Transportation and will no longer be driving.

The lawsuit remains active.

The province filed a statement of defence on behalf of the OPP. A third-party claim has also been filed against Villella’s employer, Bell Media.

The driver and Guelph Police Service, also named defendants in the case, have not yet filed a statement.

None of the allegations made in the lawsuit, or counter claims, have been tested or proven in court.