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RIP Francois Dumouchel aka Euterke June 28th 2008 (pg. 4)
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| zoogla |
| quote: | Hit, run charges await driver
GIUSEPPE VALIANTE
The Gazette
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A 26-year-old man will be arraigned in court tomorrow afternoon on charges of hit and run causing death after what witnesses described as a horrific crash at the corner of St. Laurent Blvd.. and Villeneuve St. early yesterday.
A witness said that about 1:20 a.m., he saw a man who had been riding a scooter fly through the air after being hit by a speeding SUV that ran a red light.
The scooter got lodged under the SUV and was dragged loudly as sparks flew from underneath, several witnesses said.
Police said they found the scooter three blocks away at the corner of l'Esplanade Ave. and Rachel St. The 36-year-old victim was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The SUV driver was found drinking at a bar in Old Montreal later in the morning, police said. A witness had provided them with the licence plate number of the speeding vehicle.
The names of the victim and the accused have not been made public.
If convicted, the SUV driver will most likely get three years, one criminal lawyer said - provided he has no previous convictions.
That's not enough time, said Gilles Boudreau, co-founder of a security and neighbourhood watch group west of Montreal that teams up residents and police officers, to, among other things, educate people about the dangers of speeding.
"I think if they apply stiffer sentences for people who cause bodily harm with their car or even kill somebody, I think there would definitely be a change in attitude," Boudreau told The Gazette.
He said he spends a lot of time with police officers in his St. Lazare neighbourhood, and that they are getting frustrated with aspects of the justice system involving younger drivers.
"(The police) know full well that when they take them to court, there's a chance that he's going to get off," he said.
"I think that the justice system has to change its ways. Without saying that everyone has to go to jail for a long period of time, I think there needs to be a stronger message being sent out." But Boudreau said the wider community must share responsibility for public safety, and he urged parents to speak to their children about the importance of driving responsibly.
Back at the corner of St. Laurent and Villeneuve, drops of the victim's blood were still visible on the sidewalk 11 hours after the crash.
Victor Carillo was parking his car on Villeneuve at the time of the accident. In an interview at his home, he stood up from his couch and pointed to the ceiling to show how high the man flew off his scooter before landing on the sidewalk.
"He was bleeding from his head and his ears," Carillo said.
He said strangers immediately started giving the man mouth-to-mouth and pumping on his chest.
The driver of the SUV almost hit his wife, who was standing on the sidewalk as the vehicle sped off with the scooter underneath, Carillo said. He said she ducked behind their car and recorded the licence plate number of the SUV and gave it to police.
"If you hit a dog, you stop," Carillo said. "This guy hit someone and didn't even slow down." Montreal criminal lawyer Marc Giroux said the crown could charge the man with manslaughter, but it is unlikely.
"It's tougher to prove manslaughter than hit and run causing death, for sure," he said. In order to show manslaughter, the crown would have to prove that the driver was driving fast with the intention to kill someone.
Recent cases involving drivers leaving the scene of an accident where someone died have resulted in jail sentences ranging from two to four years, Giroux said.
He believes three to five years of jail time is sufficient for this type of crime.
"The purpose of the sentence is obviously to punish, but it's also to give the chance for anyone who committed a crime to rehabilitate himself," Giroux said.
He said Quebec generally has softer sentences than the rest of the country.
"That's the type of people we are. We are compassionate, forgiving people. It's our way of life." He said that compassion shouldn't translate into accepting that a person leave the scene of an accident.
"It's not by sending someone away and throwing away the key that we're going to make this society the safest in the world ... obviously the (victim's) family wants to send the guy away for the rest of his life in jail. But that's not the way life works. Because the person is dead and he's not coming back. Let's make the best out of the situation," Giroux said. |
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazet...1f-9cd27e6c6d82
WTF found drinking at a bar later that morning in Old Montreal? Almost hitting the interviewee's wife?!?! This guy should fry. |
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| malek |
passkal, so to drive badly YOU HAVE TO be drunk?? Who knows if it wasn't the scooter driver who was the reckless one in this story?
I mean we never seen a reckless scooter (cyclist, motorcyclist) driver right? |
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| fullhouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by Passskal
imo the guy had drinked...since the cops found him after the fact, it was too late to test him as he could have drank between the time he hit the scooter and the time he was found...That's why the cops didn't ''judge'' it was necessary to test him...at that point it would have been useless evidence for the case....
The real question is: If you drink and drive and kill someone...will you get more time in jail if you stay on the scene, get arrested and fail the alcohol test....or are you better off running away from the scene, and never pass the alcohol test ? I really wonder... |
that's when your judgement comes in place and you have to weigh out the importance of the victim's life or your own time in jail. unless of course the victim is dead already |
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| Dj Nacht |
| If he gets off with only a few years he should never be allowed to operate a vehicle for the rest of his life. People go away that long for growing weed ffs. |
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| Marcus007 |
so sad to hear
especially when I heard it was a hit and run and a dui incident
rest in peace dude :( |
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| Fran666 |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
The canoe article linked above said "L'alcool ne serait pas en cause." |
This is for legal concerns by canoe...
Police didn't give the alcotest...so legally alcool is not in cause, the journalist and paper could get sued if they were not clear on that... in substance everything shows it is... Police do not give alcotest to people that don't show any signs of drunkiness...but on adrenaline you sober up by the way, i know this cause i have already been in a severe accident (passenger) and was really drunk , in a flash i was sober... this explains it for me. The guy is lucky... Don't think that by refuging in a bar you are safe after causing an accident on alcohol, the judge will not like this i'm sure. But there is reasonable doubt (without alcotest), so all this is not taken as a factor.
The guy passed on a red light, accelerating not to miss it... this is not francois' fault malek. |
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| elFreak |
thanks christian :) |
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| Fran666 |
| Great mix... thanks christian !!! |
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| malek |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fran666
The guy passed on a red light, accelerating not to miss it... this is not francois' fault malek. |
I said its the scooter fault?
But if the suv driver was accelerating to get passed a red, what is François doing burning a red too (or not watching who is crossing even if its a green light)?
My point is that drivers aren't responsible for bikes and scooters' safety. People have to watch after themselves and make themselves seen on the road especially when you are very vulnerable on a two wheeler.
Its a mix of negligence and bad driving that caused this, roles would have been reversed and no one would have heard about that story on TA... think about it. |
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| Fran666 |
Good point, if he was in a 18 wheeler he would still be alive... it's just hard to understand this... the guy was too great and full of good sense, impossible for me to imagine francois negligent.
Anyways it won't bring him back, whatever the outcome.
Just glad i have the best of memories of the guy, nothing is worth seeing him on the decks...
too much great times at aria also...
happy to have met him, a big plus in my life... |
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