Three years for hit-and-run

Mississauga man sentenced for death of volunteer

A Mississauga man has been sentenced to three years for the January 2020 death of a beloved Port Credit-area volunteer who was struck and killed while operating her electric mobility scooter in a bike lane along Dixie Road.

Penny Cousard’s mother and brother watched along from the gallery of a Brampton court Wednesday as Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno told Kenneth Buffan, reported to be 56 at the time of arrest, that he would be sentenced to the penitentiary for striking the 45-year-old and leaving the scene of the collision without rendering any assistance. He will also serve a seven-year driving ban upon his release.

Buffan pleaded guilty to failure to remain at the scene of an accident that resulted in Cousard’s death.

“It is very clear that the impact of this offence would be significant throughout the Port Credit community,” Durno said before sentencing Buffan. His sentence came out of a joint agreement between the Crown and defence counsel, Durno noted. “Failure to remain is a failure to act,” and to show “common decency and respect to another human being.”

Durno said Cousard, who was heading northbound in the bike lane, was killed in a head-on collision while obeying the rules of the road, travelling in the well-marked lanes for small vehicle traffic. At roughly 6:38 a.m., Buffan’s car drifted into the bicycle lanes.

Black box data pulled from Buffan’s Honda Civic shows that he was driving about 20 km/h faster than the posted speed limit and that the vehicle suddenly careened off the roadway before impact, Durno said. “The vehicle then mounted the curb and left the roadway completely, then returned to the roadway,” Durno said.

Buffan, who admitted to struggling with substance abuse issues, did not stop the vehicle until he was about 440 metres away from the collision, the court heard.

According to video surveillance footage, Buffan checked the damaged car for about 90 seconds and then drove off despite severe frontend damage including a shattered windshield and the airbag being deployed, Durno said. He was arrested 12 hours later, at his residence.

“He admitted he made a poor decision by not reporting the accident,” Durno said

Buffan claimed he blacked out and doesn’t remember much, Durno said, adding that there is some indication that Buffan might have been intoxicated at the time.

It was through online news reports that Carole King, Cousard’s mother, found out about her daughter’s death, said Crown attorney Carrie Vanden Broek, reading from King’s victim impact statement. King spoke proudly of her daughter, who “volunteered at every event taking place in Port Credit and the surrounding community.” More than 200 people attended a service for her, including Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie.