By Louie Rosella
The Mississauga News
MISSISSAUGA, Canada — A Mississauga firefighter charged in a March 6 crash that killed a Mississauga woman is maintaining his innocence, his lawyer said this afternoon following his client’s first court hearing.
Jarrett Johns, 35, of Toronto, accused of running a red light while driving the fire truck that struck Kimberley Schulz’s car, didn’t attend the brief hearing before Justice of the Peace Hilda Weiss. He was represented there by his lawyer, Brian Starkman.
Schulz’s family members and Peel Regional Police Major Collision Bureau investigators also attended the Brampton court hearing.
Speaking to The News after the court appearance in which he received a large binder of documents outlining the evidence against his client, Starkman didn’t mince words when asked about Johns’ views on the charge.
“He is definitely maintaining his innocence in this matter,” Starkman said. “It’s only today that we’re getting disclosure. We need to review it at some length before we can go forward.”
Johns is due back in court on July 12 for a pre-trial hearing.
Schulz, 42, who hailed from a family of firefighters, was returning home after playing hockey at York University when she was killed in the Britannia Rd. W./Rodeo Dr. crash, which occurred a few minutes before noon on a Sunday.
Her car was destroyed in the collision.
The fire truck had its lights and sirens activated, as it was responding to a nearby crash, police say.
None of the three firefighters on board were injured.
Johns hasn’t been suspended.
“Someone lost their life in the discharge of our duties and that’s unfortunate,” Mississauga Fire Chief John McDougall said in an interview last month.
McDougall didn’t rule out changes to policy or driver training procedures in the wake of the fatal crash.
Schulz, known to her husband and friends as “Blondie,” was only steps away from fashion retailer Nygard, where she had worked part-time as a sales associate for about a year, when the crash occurred. She worked full-time for a Vaughan filtration company.
Cst. Doug Tracey, of Peel’s Major Collision Bureau, said at the time that the traffic light sensor system, which changes lights for oncoming emergency vehicles, was activated.
By law, a fire truck en route to a call must come to a complete stop at a red light before proceeding.
Police charged Johns under the Highway Traffic Act. If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $1,000.
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