Skip to content

Brief court appearance for accused careless driver in death of Mikayla Ouellet

Phillip Williamson, 32, is facing a Highway Traffic Act charge of careless driving causing death in relation to head-on collision that killed pregnant 26-year-old
20230912mikaylaouellett
26-year-old Mikayla Ouellet was identified as the victim in last September's fatal crash on Wallace Terrace. Phillip Williamson, age 32, is standing trial accused of careless driving causing death.

The man accused of careless driving in the death of 26-year-old Mikayla Ouellet made a brief court appearance by video on Wednesday.

Phillip Williamson, age 32, is facing a Highway Traffic Act charge of careless driving causing death in relation to the Sept. 6 head-on collision that claimed the life of Ouellet. It was later revealed she was pregnant at the time of her death.

The charge has yet to be tested in court, and Williamson is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

Williamson made a brief appearance by video wearing a dark mauve long sleeve crew neck shirt. No defence attorney was present for the appearance and the accused spoke on his own behalf.

Eight people were in the courtroom in support of Ouellet, including her father Denis, who silently held a large photo of Mikayla.

Sebastian Gerdun for the Crown told Justice of the Peace J.A Guitard he was seeking a short adjournment of one month while additional disclosure is provided to Williamson and a Crown pre-trial is held for Dec. 4.

Crown pre-trials are generally held behind closed doors between the client or client's counsel and the Crown attorney to discuss how the case will proceed. Williamson's next appearance in Provincial Offences Court will be Jan. 3 at 10:30 a.m.

At the time of the Sept. 6 collision, Williamson was driving a Ford pickup truck, one of three vehicles involved.

Sault Police said at the time that the initial investigation revealed that the Ford pickup was eastbound on Wallace Terrace, east of Allens Side Road, when it crossed the centre line, striking a westbound delivery van and a westbound Chevrolet pick up.

The Ford pickup then left the roadway and rolled onto its passenger side. The driver of that pickup had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Ouellet, the driver of the Chevrolet pickup truck, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

As a policy, Sault Police do not name people accused of Highway Traffic Act offences. SooToday confirmed Williamson's name on publicly available court documents for the charge.

If convicted, he could face a fine of between $2,000 and $50,000, a prison term up to two years, and a licence suspension of up to five years.



Kenneth Armstrong

About the Author: Kenneth Armstrong

Kenneth Armstrong is a news reporter and photojournalist who regularly covers municipal government, business and politics and photographs events, sports and features.
Read more