A prolific driver, even arrested for speeding and having his license suspended a month ago, was behind the wheel when a Mexican foreign worker was killed in a violent swerve in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot on Tuesday.
• Also read – Serious accident in Sainte-Hélène-de-Bagot: the passenger succumbs to his injuries
At around 5 a.m. the 46-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle before crashing into a tree at 2nd place in Montérégie.
While he escaped with minor injuries, his passenger was less fortunate. José Guadalupe Briano Esparza was pronounced dead at the hospital. The 29-year-old is a seasonal worker from Mexico. He spent the summer working on a farm in Saint-Jude, according to coroner Me Steeve Poisson.
Since the beginning of 2023 alone, the driver, who lives in Saint-Eugène-de-Grantham, has been caught by the police three times for traffic offenses and, according to his file, would have committed six different crimes. consulted by The Journal.
DAVID BOUCHARD/SCOOP/QMI AGENCY
He drives too fast
Exactly one month to the day before the accident, he was arrested in the municipality of La Presentation for driving 112 km/h in an 80 km/h zone and driving with a suspended driver’s license.
While still in Montérégie, he was arrested in Saint-Barnabé-Sud in January and then in Saint-Jude in March, also for driving without a license.
In 2019, he was arrested, among others, in Saint-Dominique for driving in a 50 km/h zone at 72 km/h, then in Saint-Jérôme for not stopping at a red light.
The Journal is not releasing the driver’s name because he was not arrested and therefore no criminal charges are currently being filed in connection with the fatal accident in Montérégie. The Sûreté du Québec is continuing its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the evasion.
Several hypotheses are currently on the table, including speed and fatigue, said spokeswoman Valérie Beauchamp. The sergeant could not say whether or not the driver had a valid driver’s license at the time of the accident.
DAVID BOUCHARD/SCOOP/QMI AGENCY
Not the first time
Early Tuesday morning it was the sound of flashing lights and police cars that woke David Bouchard, who lives in 2nd Tier. The vehicle that veered off the road ended up in the ditch on his property.
“It took a long time for them to get the passenger out. The firefighters removed the windshield, cut open part of the roof and removed the door, he explains. When they managed to get him out, they immediately put a white blanket over him as if he were already dead.”
He says it’s not uncommon for drivers to “drive crazy” at his small campaign camp. Although the road is straight and newly paved, this is the third accident in as many years that has happened near his home.
“The first time a young man with blood on his face rang my doorbell, he had just been in an accident. He admitted to me that he was on his cell phone,” says Mr. Bouchard.
The family man will be particularly careful with his three small children, who are used to playing outside on the large field.
“I warn them not to play near the road but there is always a risk. “The day before the accident, my husband was playing in front of the house… he could have been hit,” he drops with a touch of concern.
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