Three years after her young daughter drowned in the family swimming pool, fate appears to have struck a Terrebonne mother who has now grieved the loss of another child since the mysterious death of her paraplegic teenager on a school bus there. Three weeks ago.
The height of the counters, the adapted transporter, the patient lifts, the adjustable electric bed, the furniture leaning against the walls; One only has to enter Jackie Njionhou Sime’s home to see that her life revolved around her daughter Gassiane, who was severely disabled from birth.
Tears and insomnia
Since her death on October 6th, the 41-year-old mother has practically counted on her fingers the hours of sleep she has been able to get. His eyes are hollow, his voice is weak, his hands are shaking with weakness.
In an interview with Le Journal, the woman of Cameroonian origin never stopped crying. When she talks about her dog, she rocks back and forth and rubs her thighs nervously. There is a long and frequent silence between two questions.
The young Gassiane, 14 years old, had been severely physically disabled and mentally retarded since birth. She could only move her head. Photo courtesy of Jackie Njionhou Sime
Jackie Njionhou Sime thought she had experienced the worst ordeal of her life three years ago when her four-year-old girl took advantage of a moment of inattention at home to go swimming. Her little Maryskha’s big, sparkling eyes were closed forever that day. She drowned. Nothing could have prepared the mother to experience such a tragedy again.
Under circumstances that are still unclear, young Gassiane died in a converted school bus that was supposed to take her home after school. To avoid a collision in front of him, the driver suddenly braked while driving on Route 335 in Laval. At that moment, Gassiane’s chair tipped forward, according to police.
20 minutes
The driver then pulled over to the side of the road and called his employer. However, as the family learned, he did not inquire about the condition of his passengers. It was only about twenty minutes later, when a colleague joined him, that they discovered that Gassiane was unconscious in the back seat.
“It took 20 minutes for someone to come to my daughter,” the woman fumed. Would she still be alive if the driver had gone to check immediately? He drives a bus with severely disabled young people, he should have checked.”
After an analysis, Laval police say there is currently no criminal negligence in this case. The school district and the transportation company declined our interview request. A forensic investigation is also underway.
As she waits for answers to her questions, Jackie Njionhou Sime clings to the remains of her dog walkers, which hang on the walls like handicrafts. In her room, next to a small, red-painted footprint, a Mother’s Day drawing with a message stands out:
“Mom, I love you with my whole body.”
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