Robert Wood opts to face criminal negligence charges in Sault Ste. Marie

The engineer facing criminal charges in connection with the deadly mall roof collapse in Elliot Lake has opted to have his case moved up to the Superior court of Justice, located in Sault Ste. Marie.

The charges against Robert Wood — two counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm — have been proceeding in the provincial court in Elliot Lake. But Wood appeared before a judge Friday to elect his mode of trial. He opted to be tried by judge alone at the Algoma Region's Superior Court, located in Sault Ste. Marie.

But prior to trial in that city, a preliminary inquiry will be held in Elliot Lake to determine if there is enough evidence for the matter to go to trial. The preliminary inquiry will likely be held in the spring.

Wood, who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, was the final engineer to inspect the Algo Centre Mall in May of 2012. 
The public inquiry report into the collapse indicates Wood's inspection did not catch the dangerous level of corrosion of the mall's steel structure.

In June, a section of the mall roof crashed down on shoppers and employees. Two people, Lucie Aylwin, 37, and Doloris Perizzolo, 74, died and 19 others were hurt.

Ontario Provincial Police laid the criminal charges against Wood in January of 2014 in connection with the mall collapse. No one else involved with the Algo Centre Mall has been criminally charged, but OPP say their investigation into the matter is still ongoing.

Elliot Lake Inquiry Commissioner Justice Paul Belanger documented in his final report, released earlier this week, numerous failures over the leaky mall's 33-year history on the part of the builders, engineers, architects and government officials.

While it was corrosion of a weld in the steel structure below the roof-top parking deck that caused the roof to cave in, Belanger called the story of the Algo Centre Mall one of human failure.

Wood is no longer a practising engineer.