A motorcyclist of French origin who killed his passenger while driving drunk has been sentenced to two years in prison, at the end of which he will be expelled from the country, far from his child.
“He had a choice, he chose to go on a motorcycle, knowing full well that his faculties were impaired. I will never understand people who drive drunk, and who ultimately destroy lives, ”dropped Nathalie Richer, just before the accused who caused the death of his 27-year-old daughter took the road to prison.
On May 19, 2019, Jacques-Jean Sorgniard was working as a waiter in a bar in Val-David. He consumed alcohol all evening, approximately from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.
Archival photo
The tragedy occurred at 4:15 a.m. on May 19, 2019 in Val-David, in the Laurentians.
After the establishment closed, in the middle of the night, he nevertheless decided to ride his Yamaha motorcycle for a ride, accompanied by Carolane Gaudreault-Richer, one of the customers of the bar with whom he had just feasted.
Just 15 minutes later, he badly negotiated a turn. Sorgniard and his passenger were thrown into a ditch filled with water. Seriously injured, they were stuck there for almost 9 hours before they were spotted by a passerby.
The young woman drowned there.
Since she had no identity papers on her and Mr. Sorgniard was in a terrible state, the authorities had great difficulty in identifying Carolane Gaudreault-Richer.
Courtesy picture
Carolanne Gaudreault-Richer, 27, was a chef.
“The next day, her husband was worried because he hadn’t heard from her. It was when I read a newspaper article about the accident that evening that I realized that it was my daughter who was involved, ”confided to the Log Natalie Richer.
Deported to France
Long hospitalized for injuries, particularly to the legs, Jacques-Jean Sorgniard was arrested more than a year and a half after the tragedy.
The investigation showed that he had nearly double the legal alcohol limit in his blood when he lost control of his motorcycle.
The 37-year-old man was sentenced last month at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse to a prison term of two years less a day. But the one who became a father four days after this fatal road trip received much more than a sentence behind bars.
Without Canadian citizenship, the man from France will also be automatically expelled from the country, far from his three-year-old son, since he was convicted of a serious crime.
“When he leaves prison, he will be expected by immigration people, to be sent to the Canadian Immigration Detention Centre. And in the days that follow, he will be deported to France, ”said his lawyer, Me Luc Carbonneau.
He will then be prohibited from returning to the country for five years.
Preventable deaths
“He has to live with several consequences for someone who does not have a criminal profile. This is a good example that shows that this could happen to any individual who thinks he is okay to drive, ”commented the criminal lawyer.
The Crown prosecutor, Me Alexis Marcotte Bélanger, for his part wanted to denounce the scourge of drunk driving.
“We all dream of the day when similar cases will no longer be before the courts. Alcohol and driving do not go together, the message must get through, ”he hammered to judge Sandra Blanchard, who endorsed the sentence.
He apologizes to the relatives of the victim
Moments before being sent to prison, a motorcyclist who killed his passenger during a trip under the influence of alcohol insisted on asking forgiveness from the victim’s family, in the middle of the courtroom.
“I have thought of you every moment since. I wanted to make contact, I was advised against it, ”said Jacques-Jean Sorgniard, turning to the relatives of Carolane Gaudreault-Richer, seated in the courtroom.
Interrupted by judge Sandra Blanchard, visibly surprised by this unusual way of doing things, he explained that he had already approached the relatives of his victim outside the courtroom, wishing to express his regrets to them.
” I’m mad “
The magistrate then let him continue, even offering the mother of the deceased 27-year-old woman to approach the accused so that she could hear what he had to say to her.
“I’m angry with myself every second. I know I made the worst choice. It was important to put faces to what torments me every day and I hope this can relieve you a little, ”he added in tears.
He also confided that he became a father barely four days after the tragedy, and said thus “to have a small idea”, since then, of the impact of such a loss for the family.
Nathalie Richer, the mother of the victim, admitted to having been turned upside down by the fact of meeting the one who caused the death of her daughter.
Not ready to forgive
“I still appreciated that he did it, it takes a lot of courage to face the people whose life he broke. It allowed me to see the guilt he feels, he doesn’t give a damn,” she said.
Despite everything, “this does not erase his gesture”, insisted the one who says she is unable to forgive for the moment.
Especially since despite the years that have passed, she is struggling to overcome this ordeal.
She is sorry that she was deprived of the happiness of seeing her daughter flourish, who was newly working as a chef after having studied in the field.
“She was talking about getting married, having a child. I have to mourn the one she would have been, ”she breathed.