COUNTY OF WELLINGTON – The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA), Township of Centre Wellington and County of Wellington are among those named in a second lawsuit relating to 2021 car crash that killed one person and seriously injured multiple others.
A young woman and her parents are seeking $11 million in damages due to injuries and lasting effects she allegedly suffered as a result of a two motor vehicle collision which is claimed to be a result of negligence of the named parties.
None of the allegations have been tested in court. The lawsuit was filed in Hamilton in 2022.
On Aug. 1, 2021 at approximately 9:50 p.m. a coupe traveling westbound on Wellington Road 21 collided with an eastbound SUV. Brian Araujo, a 25-year-old passenger in the coupe, was pronounced dead at the scene. Araujo’s family has filed a lawsuit in Kitchener in this case that is still before the courts.
Ricardo Cruz, the driver of the car the woman and Araujo were in, was charged with multiple offences including impaired driving causing death. Cruz is named in both lawsuits and is set to be sentenced in Guelph court in October.
The lawsuit said Cruz and the woman were at the Elora Gorge Conservation Area prior to the collision and that Cruz had become “intoxicated” while he was there.
The statement of claim said the woman suffered “sustained permanent, serious disfigurement and permanent, serious impairment of an important physical, mental and psychological function.”
Injuries listed in the claim include a traumatic brain injury, spine fractures, pelvic fracture, rib fractures, post traumatic stress disorder, torn vocal cord and unspecified injuries to almost her entire body.
“The injuries are accompanied by headaches, dizziness, shock, anxiety, depression, emotional trauma, chronic pain, insomnia, weakness, diminished energy and stiffness which continue to the present and will continue in the future,” the statement of claim said.
The claim said the woman is unable to be employed in any capacity or participate in recreational, social, household, athletic, educational activities to the extent she participated in prior to the collision.
The lawsuit alleged negligence on the part of the GRCA, township and county due to failing to take measures preventing alcohol or cannabis consumption at the conservation area knowing injuries could result.
The SUV driver and owner of the SUV are also named in the crash, with claims the SUV was not in good condition and the driver failed to prevent the accident through lack of skill and observation.
In statements of defence, the township, county and GRCA all deny any negligence in this incident.
The township and county’s claim said her injuries are a result of her own negligence of consuming alcohol and drugs in the conservation area and subsequently got in a vehicle with a driver who she should have known wasn’t fit to drive.
