Five years after she was hit by a patrol car while shoveling outside her home, a former nurse is saddened that she can no longer live a decent life and still questions why police led a chase into the middle of a residential neighborhood.
“Since the accident I’ve been so disorganized that I can’t get anything done. In everything,” says Nancy Carrier, 47, in an interview with Le Journal.
“I start something and rarely finish it. So everything accumulates every day,” continues the woman who almost lost her life on November 17, 2018.
That day, the mother was clearing snow from the parking lot of her residence on Sherbrooke Street East in Montreal.
Suddenly, the trained nurse was hit by a patrol car from the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Here we see patrol cars parked next to the fugitive’s car in front of Ms. Carrier’s residence in Montreal. MARC ALAIN TRUDEAU AGENCE QMI
At the time, this car was pursuing a fugitive, Sébastien Théodore, whose driving license was revoked and who had not considered it appropriate to pay his fines.
Multiple fractures
The “sovereign citizen” was intercepted near the Jacques Cartier Bridge and pursued for about three kilometers before being cornered near a school and a daycare center.
Sébastien Théodore at the Montreal courthouse in September 2019. MARTIN ALARIE / JOURNAL DE MONTREAL
Ms. Carrier was thrown 29 meters upon impact and subsequently suffered multiple broken legs.
Since then, the victim has lost track of the detrimental impact of this accident on her life.
“If it hadn’t been for the accident, we would probably still be together,” emphasizes the mother of two boys about her ex-partner Simon Duclos, who continues to support her through this difficult time.
The victim’s ex-spouse, Simon Duclos, already questioned the relevance of this prosecution when contacted by Le Journal on November 19, 2018. Jonathan Tremblay / JdeM
Daily naps
The woman who had to give up her job says she also had to debate with the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to get fair compensation.
“I will never be a nurse again. I have my head, but I forget things. They think I could work full time. But I have to take two to three hour naps every day. Which employer accepts this? asks Ms. Carrier, who even fears that she might one day have a part-time job.
“I can’t even clean myself,” she explains.
Verification practices
Furthermore, the Montrealer is still holding his own against the patrol officers who were chasing the perpetrator. She also believes that law enforcement practices should be reviewed.
“If the police hadn’t chased him, they wouldn’t have driven like that and hit someone. It cost me my life. Was it worth it?” asks Nancy Carrier, traumatized and now afraid of sirens and fast-moving cars.
“I haven’t accepted my condition yet. I will have repercussions for the rest of my life,” she concludes, five years after the events.
Her ex-partner and her brother also questioned the work of the police at the time.
At the end of a trial in 2019, the 45-year-old fugitive received a 16-month prison sentence for dangerous driving. The police were not blamed by the Office of Independent Investigations, which analyzed the file.
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