A trial date will be set next month for the man accused in the death of 26-year-old Mikayla Ouellet, who died in a head-on collision on Sept. 6, 2023.
The accused, 33-year-old Phillip Williamson, is facing two charges, including up to life in prison in relation to the indictable charge of causing death by criminal negligence as a result of that collision.
The charges against Williamson have yet to be tested in court and he is considered innocent unless proven guilty.
Family and friends of Ouellet packed the gallery in Courtroom 8 on Monday, expecting a date to be set for trial. Williamson did not appear but was represented by a lawyer acting on behalf of his defence attorney Jessica Belisle.
Crown Attorney Lindsey Santerre noted she was prepared to set a date immediately for trial or preliminary inquiry, but Justice John Condon accepted a request made by duty counsel Krum Dochevon on behalf of Belisle that additional time be allowed to request further documents.
Belisle was seeking the matter to return on May 27 but Condon asked for the matter to return to court on May 13 to set a date.
Condon noted he also oversaw the judicial pre-trail that was held on April 17, during which five days was estimated for the length of a trial and said the matter should advance "as quickly as possible."
On the second charge of dangerous operation, Condon asked if the Crown will elect to treat it as a summary offence or an indictable offence.
If pursued as a summary offence, the maximum penalty upon conviction for that charge is two years less a day in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Because Santerre told Condon that the Crown is electing to pursue it as an indictable offence, the maximum punishment for dangerous operation is 10 years in prison.
In January, the Crown dropped the original Highway Traffic Act charge of careless driving causing death in favour of pursuing the criminal charges in Superior Court.
Sault Police added the criminal charges on Dec. 1, nearly three months after the collision that killed Ouellet, who was pregnant at the time she was killed.
In an article published in December, Ouellet's parents told SooToday that the death of their daughter and her unborn child has impacted countless lives.
Sault Police said on the date of the collision, Williamson was driving a Ford pickup truck, one of three vehicles involved in the collision that occurred around 11:20 a.m.
At the time, police said 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 dead at the scene.