MISSISSAUGA Bakhtawar Malik would have been starting high school this fall. Her family believes she would have enjoyed a few trips to Canada's Wonderland this summer, along with countless visits to Dairy Queen with her siblings to enjoy her favourite summer treats.

However, the 13-year-old Applewood Hills girl's life was cut short last June when she was hit by a car while standing on the sidewalk at Bloor St. and Havenwood Dr. waiting for the light to change.

In Burnhamthorpe court recently, the Mississauga woman responsible for the crash, Brikena Xhaci, 43, pleaded guilty to careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) and received a $1,130 fine from Justice of the Peace Michael Barnes. An HTA charge of running a red light was withdrawn due to the guilty plea.

The charges carried a maximum fine of $2,000 and a potential jail term of six months, but Xhaci avoided a jail sentence.

Meanwhile, Malik's mother and two siblings, who witnessed the horrific June 14 collision, which occurred at about 8:30 p.m., are still struggling to come to terms with a life taken far too early.

"The car went on the footpath and then it hit my sister, and then my sister went over the fence," Bakhtawar's brother, Hazma, 10, told The News days after the crash. "I only have one sister left."

The girl's younger brother said the car nearly hit him and that he, his older brother and mother couldn't do anything to avoid the collision.

Peel Region Paramedics rushed Bakhtawar, who had celebrated her 13th birthday a few weeks earlier, to hospital, but were unable to save her.

Xhaci, driving a 2002 Chevrolet Impala, was uninjured and treated for shock.

Ejaz Akhter, the victim's father, appreciates the work of the Peel police Major Collision Bureau, but said the outcome in court won't bring his daughter back.

"What's done is done, you know, she's my daughter. She's pretty. She's beautiful," he said. "We are missing her. We cannot bring her back."

At Glenhaven Senior Public School, where the teen attended Grade 7, Bakhtawar was remembered "as a kind and cheerful person, and a credit to our school," according to principal Cheryl Streete. "She will be deeply missed."

Bakhtawar was a budding artist and musician, said her tutor Aisha Ashad, who described her as a quiet, hard-working girl who was liked by her teachers and won prizes for her paintings. She had recently completed a painting of a guitar with wings and was learning to play the instrument.

Ashad had been tutoring her in math, science and religion since Bakhtawar's arrival in Canada with her family from Pakistan, via Saudi Arabia, back in 2011.

Residents who live in the neighbourhood where the crash occurred say speeding is a frequent problem in the area.

"The speeding is absolutely atrocious," said Les Crisp. "Rush hours and pretty much anytime is scary."

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Ward 3 Councillor Chris Fonseca said earlier the area is regularly enforced by police.

"Everyone has to play a role in driving responsibly and that's done through education and awareness," Fonseca said. "The Bloor St. E. corridor is certainly well travelled and speed and traffic calming are concerns that are expressed regularly."