Taylor Kennedy leaves court after a previous appearance. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

By CKOM Staff

Court proceedings

Impaired driving charge in Kennedy case stayed due to delays

Dec 13, 2024 | 3:09 PM

The court case of a woman accused of hitting and killing a nine-year-old Saskatoon girl in a crosswalk has been stayed due to delays.

Taylor Ashley Kennedy was charged with impaired driving causing death in the 2021 crash that led to the death of Bayleigh Maurice. The nine-year-old girl was on her way to school, riding a scooter through a marked crosswalk on 33rd Street West when she was struck and killed by a pickup truck.

Kennedy, the first person in Saskatchewan to face a THC-related impaired driving charge, had admitted to police that she had used both cannabis and magic mushrooms in the 24-hour period before the fatal crash. Her trial began in October of 2023, and was marked by numerous delays.

Bayleigh’s gravesite. (Facebook)

The charge was stayed on Friday morning in Saskatoon Provincial Court after passing the 18-month window set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in its landmark 2016 decision R v. Jordan.

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Maurice’s family members and supporters stood in the courtroom shouting and weeping as the decision to stay the charge was announced.

A number of other criminal cases in Saskatchewan have also been stayed due to delays after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Prior to moving to Saskatoon, Rochelle Dubois (Bayleigh’s mother) lived in Prince Albert and when she talked to paNOW in January, 2022, nearly four months had passed with no charges.

A video of the incident posted to social media, was shared over 1,500 times.

— with files from paNOW Staff