It is the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec which would be to blame for the monster pileup that claimed the lives of four people on the 440 in the summer of 2019, rather than the trucker accused of criminal negligence, because he had been given back a permit by mistake, say his lawyers.
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“Yes. Jagmeet Grewal lied in his job application. However, these lies do not call into question the fact [qu’il] was an experienced and obviously qualified truck driver.”
This is what the lawyers argue, Mr.are Jean-Daniel Debkoski and Philipe Knerr, in their written pleadings recently filed in the file.
Jagmeet Grewal, 56, is on trial for criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm. On August 5, 2019, the trucker was traveling on Highway 440 West when he hit a series of vehicles immobilized by traffic, in Laval.
Archival photo
The accused trucker, Jagmeet Grewal, at his trial last fall.
Gilles Marsolais, 54, Michèle Bernier, 48, Sylvain Pouliot, 55, and Robert Tanguay Laplante, 26, died.
Four other people were injured.
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Unfit for life
In 2014, after a collision two years earlier in the United States that left Grewal with psychiatric consequences, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) banned him for life from working as a truck driver. The organization paid him income compensation.
Despite this, he was able to “legitimately and honestly” regain his class 1 license from the SAAQ… by mistake.
To do this, he provided a legitimate medical report which declared him fit to drive, recall his lawyers.
“How could he know that the SAAQ departments were not communicating with each other or that their internal procedures were faulty? they ask. If someone dropped the ball, it’s the SAAQ.”
For its part, the Crown considers rather that “it was Mr. Grewal who decided to play with this ball in a negligent manner, voluntarily assuming the risk” of his conduct for the safety of others.
A predicted disaster
This fatal pile-up was rather “an announced disaster”, according to the Crown.
Archival photo
First responders at the scene of the collision, August 5, 2019.
“By dint of playing with fire, we end up getting burned. This is exactly what happened,” say prosecutors, Ms.are Simon Blais, Alexis Marcotte Bélanger and Lily-Anne Ratelle.
The collision can only be explained by his “dangerous” way of driving. In the 10 seconds before impact, the semi-trailer never braked or even slowed down.
“The accused disregarded traffic for an unacceptable period of time and had no reaction to avoid the collision.”
This argument must be rejected, according to the defense, because no one knows what happened in Grewal’s cabin before the impact. The accused did not give his version of the facts at his trial.
Overwhelmed with problems
The Crown also argues that Grewal was plagued with health issues that are inconsistent with driving.
Painkillers, muscle relaxants, antidepressants: he was taking a cocktail of drugs that could cause side effects, like drowsiness and dizziness, to name a few. However, there is no evidence that this had an impact on his ability to drive, believes the defense.
He had not disclosed his recent diagnosis of diabetes to the SAAQ, in addition to neglecting the treatment of his disease.
“A reasonable professional truck driver would have been aware of the risks […] and would have refrained from driving” on the day of the pileup, concludes the Crown by inviting the judge, Yanick Laramée, to find him guilty.
Oral arguments will take place next June at the Laval courthouse.
– With Valerie Gonthier