The Highway Traffic Act charges aren't criminal charges, say officers with the Peel police Major Collision Bureau, who laid the charges this week.
Tony Mota, a Portuguese native who was well-known in Streetsville as the man on the bike, was struck July 7 by a garbage truck as he rode along Queen St. He died two days later in hospital.
Business owners, workers and residents remember him as the fit, energetic Portuguese man who would journey up and down Queen St. on his sporty mountain bike.
In the days after the tragedy, his family struggled to understand how the horrific crash occurred.
"Our family is understandably upset, but we accept it was an accident," Arlene Mota, 41, Tony Mota's youngest of two daughters, said at the time. "It's really hard to come to terms with the whole thing; my dad was hit so hard. He had a fractured skull, blood clotting on each side of his head...I can't imagine the impact my father had to endure."
The crash occurred just after 7:30 a.m. when a 1987 Mack disposal truck hit Mota from behind as he rode in the northbound curb lane, just south of Ellen St.
Mota had been at Tim Hortons for a coffee and chat with friends. He was only seconds from home when he was struck.
He was taken to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Mota came to Canada from the Portuguese island of São Miguel in 1954. The father of two and his wife, Maria, would have celebrated their 46th anniversary last month.
He worked as a millwright at Reid Milling in Streetsville before retiring several years ago.
Arlene Mota said her father was an avid cyclist and an athletic, healthy man.
"He was the best dad and the best grandfather," she said, referring to his two grandchildren.
Steve Soares, 28, of Mississauga, is facing charges under the HTA.
The charge of careless driving carries a fine of up to $1,000 and a potential prison term of six months. It alleges the driver was operating the vehicle without "due care and attention."
Police, typically, lay operating an unsafe vehicle charges when there are mechanical issues with the vehicle in question.
lrosella@mississauga.net
