Article content

LONDON, Ont. — The woman who was behind the wheel of a car that crashed through the front doors of a London Costco store — killing a young girl and her unborn sister — has been handed a suspended sentence.

Ruth Burger, 66, was spared jail Tuesday after she was convicted earlier this summer of two counts of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Retiree spared jail time for crash at London Costco that killed two little girls: 'Sorry is such an inadequate word' Back to video

Burger received three years probation, 240 hours community service and was slapped with a five-year driving ban.

The decision spares the retiree from Althouse College at Western University, who had no criminal record, any time behind bars.

Burger was at the big-box store on a sunny July 25, 2014, to do her grocery shopping. She returned to her car, parked at the edge of the lot, put it in reverse, backed out and then suddenly began to accelerate backwards.

She travelled half the length of a football field backwards over five seconds, reaching speeds of close to 50 km/h and manoeuvring between red bollards at the front of the store before crashing into the entrance and hitting the young family.