The Quebec driver who killed two children, their mother and grandfather last fall, when his car crashed into theirs, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Eric Legaret, 44, was under the influence of alcohol and speeding when his vehicle collided with three other vehicles waiting for a left turn signal at an intersection in Beauport, Quebec, on September 2, 2021.
Emma Lemieux, 10, her half-brother Jackson Fortin, 14, their mother Shelley Fletcher-Lemieux, 44, and grandfather, James Fletcher, 68, all died of injuries suffered in the collision.
“This is not about determining the cost of living,” Quebec court judge Jean-Louis Leme said during Legare’s sentencing hearing in the Quebec City Courtroom on Friday.
Lemay said his job is to determine a fair verdict based on objective facts, law and legal precedent. He said it was important to compare the severity of the sentence with the changing public view of the act of driving under the influence.
“It is up to the courts to use tools provided by parliament to attack this social evil,” Lemay said in his ruling.
Send a deterrent message
Crown prosecutor Pierre-Alexander Bernard says Legaret should serve 18 to 20 years in prison and have his driver’s license revoked for the rest of his life. (Hadi Hasin / Radio Canada)
The crown demanded a sentence of 18 to 20 years in prison for Legare and a life ban from driving, but prosecutor Pierre-Alexander Bernard said he was “not at all disappointed” by the 16-year sentence – the longest ever in Quebec for a crime. performed in similar circumstances.
Another Quebec, Roger Walsh, did received a life sentence for the murder of Anne Hudaverdyan while driving under the influence in 2008, however, Walsh had 19 previous convictions for drunk driving and a long list of other crimes.
By comparison, Legare had only one previous conviction for drunk driving in 2017.
Bernard said he hoped Legare’s sentence would send “a clear message to anyone who attempts and commits such crimes that these crimes are not tolerated in our society.”
Defense calls sentence “adequate”
Legaret’s lawyer, Vincent Monmini, said he found the sentence reasonable, even though it was significantly higher than the 10 years he had been looking for.
“I think this is an adequate sentence,” he said.
Monmini, who spoke to Legaret after the ruling, said his client was devastated but would not seek permission to appeal the sentence.
“He didn’t fall off his chair. He knew he was in this stadium for sure.”
During his testimony, Legare burst into tears and expressed remorse for the victims’ families, saying he regularly had nightmares about what he had done.
He admitted that he drank and smoked weed more often in the months before the crash due to difficulties in his personal life.
The family was destroyed
Clockwise on the top, James Fletcher, Jackson Fortin, Emma Lemieux and Shelley Fletcher-Lemieux were killed after their car was hit by an overturned Éric Légaré vehicle in Beauport, Quebec, just outside Quebec City, September 2, 2021. (Wilbrod Robert Funeral Home)
The courtroom was packed to hear the verdict, and relatives of the victims and the convict waited intently.
Jean-Dominique Lemieux, Emma’s father and Shelley’s nine-year-old husband, was especially absent.
Jackson’s father, Daniel Fortin, said he shook hands with his two friends when the judge announced his decision. He said he was relieved and somewhat pleased with the strong message the harsh sentence was sending.
“I think it’s a good step,” he said.
Although he said no sentence could alleviate the pain of losing his child, he felt like a burden on his shoulders with the end of the trial.
“It’s a small wound dressing,” he said. “We’ll be able to start grieving.”
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