A day after a man was acquitted of dangerous driving in a tragic crash that killed a Vancouver child, a legal expert is explaining why prosecutors struggled to secure a conviction.
Seyed Moshfeghi Zadeh was acquitted of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm in the July 6, 2021, crash that killed 23-month-old Ocean and seriously injured her father.
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“A type of case that would make it admissible is if there was a pattern of the same type of conduct happening over a prolonged period, as opposed to a number of random traffic offences over a person’s entire driving history,” she said.
“If they have repeated instances of speeding and the allegation is they sped, you could say this is indicative of the type of conduct that the person engages in and it’s the conduct at the heart of the trial — but even then, courts really shy away from introducing evidence of past conduct.”
