A truck driver who fatally hit a cyclist and then threw the bike away and continued on his way through Le Plateau-Mont-Royal was sentenced to 9 months in the community on Monday for his fatal hit-and-run.
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Convicted by Judge Pierre Labelle at the Montreal courthouse, Brandon Marchand-Bibeau, who will soon celebrate his 27e birthday, will have to submit to a multitude of conditions.
It is that on September 27, 2021, the accused was transporting large gravel to a construction site in the Outremont borough when, in the middle of the afternoon, he crushed Andrea Rovere, 31, with his vehicle of more than fourteen tons.
Andrea Rovere, the victim
Photo taken from LinkedIn
According to a reconstruction expert, the bike got stuck under the truck, which continued on its way for 300 meters before the driver came to a stop.
Nonchalant
Marchand-Bibeau then got out of the vehicle to make a summary inspection, according to testimony heard in court.
The accused then saw the bicycle twisted under its wheels, but rather than wondering, he got rid of it.
“He threw the bike into the woods, while taking his time in a nonchalant way”, had noted a witness of the scene.
The victim’s bike was found badly damaged.
Photo filed in evidence
Note that the fatal collision was accidental in nature, the investigation determined. However, as Marchand-Bibeau never stopped, he was accused of a fatal hit-and-run.
Willful blindness
During his testimony before the court, Marchand-Bibeau, represented by Mr.e Franco Montesano, assured that he did not know he had hit a cyclist.
“I was surprised to see the bike, I wondered where it came from. I looked and saw nothing so when everything was fine I continued on my way,” he defended himself.
The truck driven by the accused, Brandon Marchand-Bibeau, the day of the tragedy.
Photo filed in evidence
Judge Pierre Labelle was not convinced, declaring him guilty last January of a fatal hit-and-run.
“It was not a trash can or a branch under the vehicle, but material belonging to a human,” he concluded.
The victim, Andrea Rovere, had left Italy in 2015 to begin his doctorate in energy and materials sciences at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS). He then began postdoctoral research.
More details to come…