5-year-old boy fatally caught: little help for bereaved mother

A mother who saw her five-year-old child fatally hit by a van last summer laments the lack of resources to get through the ordeal.

“I find it deplorable. Support, I may not need it all my life, but surely for a good part, ”says Vanessa Cahill, considering herself left to herself by the system.

Her life changed on July 7 when her young son Justin got on his bike to follow a vehicle that was leaving their parking lot.

“That day, it was not just my son who died, there was also me in a way. It’s hard to move forward”, supports, emotional, M^me Cahill.

The driver of the van, who had recently rented a room from Mr.^me Cahill, then began to backtrack since he had forgotten something at home.

He never saw the child who was behind him and fatally grabbed him. The vehicle did not have a rear view camera.

“I ran out, I started screaming. I picked up my son who was already deceased. He no longer had his helmet on his head, he was split under the truck,” recalls the mother of two children.

No charges were brought against the driver of the van, as it was an accident.

Difficult months

The resident of Barraute, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, claims to have suffered post-traumatic shock. She has since had memory loss, tremors and hallucinations.

“I’m still alive today, but I don’t think I can find the mom that I was, the Vanessa that I was. She left at the same time as my son”, explains Mr.^me Cahill.

Since the accident, the 31-year-old woman must regularly go to psychotherapy sessions.

The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) paid about 70% of the bill during his first 15 sessions with a psychologist.

“Once my 15 appointments have passed, it’s: ‘Fix with your troubles,'” she says.

M^me Cahill has also turned to groups of bereaved parents on social media to help her through the ordeal.

She was also able to benefit from employment insurance sickness benefits for a few weeks. However, these are temporary, M^me Cahill had to return to work due to lack of budget.

“I find that the resources for these parents are not suitable”, specifies the one who currently works in a ski center in the region.

Highlight: In 2021, 18 children aged 14 and under died in a road accident in Quebec, according to the most recent data from the SAAQ.