It was a horrific crash in the middle of the day almost six years ago that claimed the life of Joan Clubb, 67, who was a passenger in a light brown Hyundai Sonata. Earlier this year, Bahaa Ali, 32, was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death after the court heard he had been driving his Black Mercedes Benz along Southdale Road near White Oak Road on Nov. 3, 2020 at speeds up to 129 kilometres an hour. During the trial last fall, Ali tried to blame his younger brother claiming that he was the one behind the wheel on the day of the crash but the court didn’t believe him. The sentencing hearing got underway in the spring with Crown attorney Cara Douglas requesting that Ali serve a five year sentence along with a five-year driving prohibition. When the sentencing resumed on Monday after a lengthy adjournment, defence lawyer Melina Macchia asked the court for a lighter sentence requesting a two-year conditional sentence along with a 15-year driving prohibition. “We know that the vehicle was speeding but there was no evidence that he was under the influence,” said Macchia. Even though the court heard Ali has a criminal record which includes assault causing bodily harm Macchia said “his past criminal record does demonstrate that he can comply with probation.” The defence is asking that Ali serve no jail time because any custodial sentence over six months would mean that immigration department would get involved and he could face deportation back to Lebanon. Macchia told the court that Ali has been in Canada for 12 years and if he’s deported, “his life as he knows it would be disrupted.” Before wrapping up, Justice Barbara MacFarlane told the court, “this is a challenging case to determine a proper and fit sentence, the defendant’s relatively youthful actions had tragic consequences.” The judge is expected to hand down her decision on the case on Oct. 30.
