Did Alexandra Gagné-Faucher kill another motorist on the side of Highway 15 after exchanging overtakes with him? At least that’s the thesis that the Crown presented to the jury Wednesday at the trial of this woman accused of involuntary manslaughter and fatal hit-and-run.
The 31-year-old Montrealer is accused of causing the death of Stéphane Taillon, 53, on September 15, 2022 in Laval. She then allegedly fled for days. The Crown presented a brief summary of the case to the jury Wednesday at the Laval courthouse.
According to the prosecution’s theory, Alexandra Gagné-Faucher was driving a gray Hyundai Accent belonging to her mother when she left Montreal. On Highway 15, heading north, she was observed exchanging overtakes with a red vehicle, driven by Stéphane Taillon, according to the Crown.
“Eyewitnesses of the scene will describe to you what they observed. You will be able to verify the reliability of their story with the other witnesses, the crime scene experts,” M told the jury.e Caroline Buist in her introductory presentation.
Once at the Souvenir viaduct, in Laval, Alexandra Gagné-Faucher and Stéphane Taillon stopped their vehicle on the service road of Highway 15, according to the prosecution’s theory.
“A few moments later, the body of Stéphane Taillon was observed on the roadway, lying on the ground. He later died. What happened ? One thing is certain, it is not due to a mechanical failure of Alexandra Gagné-Faucher’s vehicle,” continued the Crown prosecutor.
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The victim, Stéphane Taillon
How did Stéphane Taillon die? This was not revealed to the jury at this stage of the trial.
It was only five days later that Alexandra Gagné-Faucher was arrested. “You will also have the chance to know what the accused did in the minutes, hours and days following the event of September 15,” underlined Mr.e Buist, who teams up with Me Marie-Philippe Guimond-Méthé.
“A trial is like a puzzle where each witness brings you a small piece and at the end, you will have to put them together to get a picture. Will this one be perfect? Possibly not. But we claim that the key documents will be provided to you and will allow you to find the constituent elements of the two counts,” M.e Buist.
The prosecution intends to call 18 witnesses during the trial, scheduled for a few weeks before Judge Eric Downs of the Superior Court.
Me Roxane Hamelin and Me Rose-Marie Picard defends the accused.