‘Deliberate, reckless and willful act’: London man convicted in speeding crash that killed elderly woman

Bahaa Ali, charged with dangerous driving in the death of a 68-year-old Joan Clubb in November 2020, has been convicted. Nick Paparella reports.

The legal woes are mounting for a London man who was found guilty in a high-speed collision that killed Joan Clubb of London.

The 67-year-old Clubb was a passenger in a light brown Hyundai Sonata when a speeding black Mercedes Benz crashed into her at Southdale and White Oak roads on Nov. 3, 2020.

She would be rushed to hospital where she would later be pronounced dead.

Following a London police investigation, officers would charge Bahaa Ali.

After a trial last fall, Justice Barbara MacFarlane found the 31-year-old Ali guilty of dangerous driving causing death.

During the trial, Ali testified and tried to convince the court that his brother was the one behind the wheel on the day in question, saying he lied to police to protect his younger sibling.

However, MacFarlane wasn’t buying it saying, “I find Mr. Ali’s explanation unbelievable and likely implausible...it is not reliable evidence.”

The court heard evidence that the Mercedes was travelling at speeds of up to 129 km/h in an area marked as a 60 km/h zone with the judge saying, “Mr. Ali chose to operate his vehicle at an extreme rate of speed within a busy commercial area.”

She added, “Driving more than double the speed limit was a deliberate, reckless and willful act contrary to the standard of a reasonably prudent driver.”

At the end of the judge’s decision, Crown Attorney Cara Douglas rose to tell the court she is seeking an application to revoke Ali’s bail after she told the proceedings that he faces another offence of dangerous operation of a vehicle, which is a charge laid one year to the day on March 11, 2025.

His defence lawyer Melina Macchia told the court, “I have to say that I am completely shocked to hear that, that is the case after six years.”

She went on to say that Ali was released on an appearance notice and not an order with conditions.

The application and arguments are scheduled to be heard on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the sentencing hearing for the dangerous driving conviction is set for April 24, 2026.