After decimating a family while driving when he was well over the alcohol limit allowed on the Dufferin-Montmorency highway, Éric Légaré will plead guilty on December 14. A decision that relieves the relatives of the victims, who despite everything want an exemplary sentence.
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Thursday, Me Julie Bégin, one of the lawyers representing Légaré, informed Judge Bernard Lemieux of this decision as the 43-year-old man’s case returned to court for the eighth time.
A guilty plea offered extremely quickly to lessen the suffering caused to the families of Shellie Fletcher-Lemieux, 44, James Fletcher, 68, Emma Lemieux, 10 and Jackson Fortin, 14, all of whom died as a result of the accident .
QMI Agency archive photo, Guy Martel
“My client has chosen to admit his guilt because he is aware of the sad actions he has taken and, knowing that it will not erase anything, he hopes that his swift plea will bring some relief to the bereaved families” , said Me Vincent Montminy, following the appearance of his client.
“Little surprised”
In mid-October, while the investigation was held into the release of Légaré – which was refused to him by judge Alain Morand – the latter heard the evidence held against him by the public prosecutor.
He also saw several videos and watched, like several members of the Fletcher, Lemieux and Fortin families, the images of the fatal accident captured by the surveillance cameras of the Ministry of Transport.
An impact that was so violent that Judge Morand, at the request of the lawyers, had issued an order to prevent their dissemination.
Reached on the phone by Newspaper, Jean-Dominic Lemieux who lost his spouse, his daughter, his lover’s boy and her father during the accident said he was “little surprised” by this rapid announcement of guilt.
“The evidence is so overwhelming … and there are so few mitigating factors,” he said up front.
“Exemplary” penalty
However, for the father of the family, what matters most is that people eventually understand.
“Often, we say to ourselves that at worst, we are going to do a balloon and have a thousand piastre fine … but a balloon, when someone dies, it changes a lot more a life”, he said said adding “hoped” that the sentence eventually imposed on the driver is exemplary enough to discourage anyone from driving while intoxicated.
Recall that according to the evidence presented in the context of the release investigation, the prosecutor, Mr.e Pierre-Alexandre Bernard had mentioned that on the day of the events, Légaré had smoked cannabis and consumed seven glasses of wine and three shooters.
At the time of the impact, the “minimum” speed was 130 km / h when it caused death by crossing the road of the small family returning to pick up the children from school.
