Bus driver charged in 2024 death of 22-year-old Beaches woman

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Charges have now been laid against the driver of a school bus that struck and killed a 22-year-old woman a block from her home in the Beaches last fall.

Toronto Police say Anthony Phillips, 60, of Toronto, now faces charges that include dangerous driving causing death under the Criminal Code and careless driving causing death under the Highway Traffic Act.

The family of the young woman, Rachel Turner, has also filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking $9.5 million in damages from Phillips and FirstCanada – the bus company that employed him.

A statement of defence has not yet been filed.

“Charges won’t bring Rachel back, but they show that her death was preventable and that she wasn’t to blame,” Rachel’s father, Leon Turner, said in a statement.

“It is important that someone is held accountable so that, hopefully, action can be taken to prevent similar tragedies in the future,” he added.

Rachel was walking across a crosswalk at Kingston and Kingswood Rds. – west of Victoria Park Ave. – when she was struck in the head by the vehicle’s extended front sideview mirrors on the afternoon of Oct. 9, 2024.

She never fully regained consciousness and died in hospital four days later.

Rachel was the third school bus fatality in the GTA in a five-month period last year after an 84-year-old woman was struck and killed in Richmond Hill on Nov. 5 (the driver fled the scene) and a six-year-old boy was struck and killed in Vaughan on June 19.

“It’s another senseless tragedy in the Toronto area involving school buses,” said lawyer Mike Smitiuch, who represents the family. “Bus drivers and their employers should have a greater level of responsibility for ensuring public safety.”

Rachel had just graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University, majoring in Business Administration. She was preparing to pursue her MBA and had met her soulmate, according to her family.

It’s alleged the driver was distracted and travelling too fast, said Smitiuch.

It’s also alleged the bus company failed to provide adequate training for the driver and failed to implement safety measures.

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“My daughter was a natural leader and a bright beacon of light who stood for all that is good in the world,” Rachel’s mother, Susan Turner, said in a statement.

“And, in an instant, we’ve lost her. The impact has devastated our family and continues to be felt across the community. There has to be accountability for that,” she added.

Smitiuch said a federal task force investigated school bus safety and made recommendations to Transport Canada in 2019 and 2020 that included sensors and automated braking systems on buses to detect pedestrians.

In the wake of Rache’s death last fall, her family called for improved school bus safety during a press conference out front of their home.

At that time, Susan said when she last saw her daughter that day, Rachel was headed to work around 4 p.m. after baking scones for her boyfriend’s family Thanksgiving dinner.

“Five minutes later at the top of our street, she was gone. She was killed,” said Susan at the time. “This is hell for me.”

Rache’s father Leon said at the time: “I just don’t want Rachel to be a statistic. Nobody should have to go through what we are going through.”