Court: Steven Machado 'panicked' before crash

Source: Toronto Sun

Brother testifies he saw sibling reach for something before accident that killed women

ONTARIO - One of two brothers accused of racing before a pile-up killed two women testified yesterday his sibling "panicked" and drove onto a gravel shoulder to avoid rear-ending a dump truck.

Brian Machado, 29, said his brother's left hand was on the steering wheel of his Audi as he leaned towards the passenger seat seconds after passing his BMW.

"He was looking for something," Machado said, insisting, "he didn't whiz by me ... he just passed me.

"He panicked and pulled his car onto the shoulder," then the Audi crossed in front of the truck and "fish-tailed" across Hwy. 50 into an oncoming car.

The collision Oct. 6, 2007, killed driver Cynthia Dougherty, 49, of Beeton, and her best friend Mariarosa Dalsass, 44, of Palgrave.

Before his brother's testimony, Steve Machado admitted reaching for a CD case, then checking the floor.

He told court he didn't brake before steering onto the shoulder to avoid the truck.

"I wasn't paying attention," Steve Machado said. "That was my mistake.

"I was concentrating on something I shouldn't have."

Steve Machado pleaded guilty in July to two counts of criminal negligence causing death. His brother, granted protection under the Ontario Evidence Act before testifying, faces a trial on those charges next year.

On the fourth of a five-day pre-sentencing hearing to determine if they were racing before the crash -- which they deny -- Brian Machado said he was doing 105 km/h in the 80 km/h zone.

Calmly describing that as "pretty well my normal speed" on his regular route home from the steel plant where both work, he insisted being unaware of the Audi until it passed him, seconds later going right between two dump trucks.

The driver of the rear truck earlier testified his speed was 70-80 km/h.

Brian Machado testified, "I saw my brother come extremely close to the rear of the dump truck and I thought he was going to hit it."

Prosecutor Sean Doyle accused him of inventing testimony about seeing brake lights from either the truck or Audi, plus supporting his brother's "fish-tailing" evidence to help Steve Machado's claim of launching evasive action.

"I'm telling the truth," Brian Machado insisted, but repeatedly admitted recalling few details from that day.

The welder testified he was shocked that both women were dead after checking their pulses, something "I'd never seen before."

Justice Bruce Durno's ruling on the racing issue is expected Dec. 14.

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Source: Toronto Sun

Car in deadly crash 'going fast'

ONTARIO - A Mississauga driver testified yesterday his dump truck seemed to be almost standing still in the wake of Steven Machado's car before a pileup that killed two women.

Ramandeep Ghuman said that when an Audi whizzed past him Hwy. 50 on Oct. 6, 2007, and caught up to a BMW, "it appeared to me I was stationary, like I was standing."

Ghuman was the first witness at the pre-sentencing hearing that will determine whether Machado was racing at the time of the crash.

Estimating his speed at 70-80 km/h, Ghuman testified that, "like you race a car ... they came together" on his left, before the Audi swerved in front of him.

"They were both going at a fast speed, but the one that was behind accelerated more," Ghuman said of Machado's car.

The BMW, which court heard was driven by brother Brian Machado, 29, kept going straight on the highway, without speeding up, the trucker testified.

Steven Machado, who sat beside lawyer Peter Brauti, pleaded guilty in July to criminal negligence in the death of the two women.

His brother faces a trial on similar charges next year.

Brauti insisted his client wasn't racing and told Justice Bruce Durno that "this is not a complex case."

In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Sean Doyle said the brothers were in fact racing before the younger driver lost control and sparked a deadly seven-vehicle crash.

The crash killed driver Cynthia Dougherty, 49, of Beeton, and best friend Mariarosa Dalsass, 44, of Palgrave.

The hearing is expected to last five days.

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Source: The Toronto Sun

Prosecution goes to court to brand Steven Machado a street racer. Pleaded guilty July 28 to two counts of criminal negligence causing death

ONTARIO - A Mississauga motorist whose speeding car killed two women faces a pre-sentencing hearing tomorrow, in which a prosecutor will try to have him branded a street racer.

The case is an important test of anti-racing laws Ontario passed in 2006, Peel Regional Police lead traffic investigator Const. Ken Wright said yesterday.

Hoping Steven Machado will face stiffer sentencing, Wright -- who will testify during the five-day hearing in a Brampton court -- said "a strong message has been sent to deter people from street racing."

"That's why we have to prove the component of street racing," he said.

Machado, 24, pleaded guilty July 28 to two counts of criminal negligence causing the deaths of driver Cynthia Dougherty, 49, of Beeton, and passenger Mariarosa "Mar" Dalsass, 44, of Palgrave.

The best friends died instantly Oct. 6, 2007 in a seven-vehicle pileup, trapped in the Pontiac Grand Am that Dougherty was driving as it was torn apart on Hwy. 50.

Investigators claim Machado and his brother Brian, 29, were speeding up to 140 km/h when the younger driver went onto a gravel shoulder to pass a dump truck and lost control, sparking the multi-vehicle crash.

Brian Machado, also charged with criminal negligence causing death, is facing a trial next year.

Lawyers for the brothers oppose prosecution claims that the two were racing.

Several witnesses came forward to help police, including some who will testify about what happened prior to and during the deadly crash, Wright said after being called by the Sun.

He could not speculate on the additional severity of being convicted of street racing on top of criminal negligence causing death, which classifies as a "wanton and reckless disregard."