One of two survivors of a horrific head-on collision on the Trans Canada Highway near Gander in 2019 is pleased to hear that a new trial has been ordered in the case.

Josh Whiteway and his girlfriend Suzanne were travelling in the back seat of her parents’ vehicle when the collision occurred. Whiteway was paralyzed from the waist down and Suzanne’s parents, John and Sandra Lush, were killed.

Nicholas Villeneuve, the man who was driving the vehicle that slammed head-on into them, was acquitted in the case after the judge ruled that his rights were violated in the immediate aftermath of the collision.

Villeneuve was facing a list of charges including impaired driving causing death.

The Crown appealed the acquittal, and the ruling by three Court of Appeal justices was released yesterday.

It listed numerous instances where the trial judge wrongly excluded evidence and made “erroneous factual findings.”

Whiteway says while he can’t presume what the outcome of a new trial might be, he’s happy to hear that a new one has been ordered.

“It’s really good to hear all three judges voted unanimously to overturn the trial judge’s decision to throw out the evidence in the case.” He calls it “super positive and very relieving.”