A mother and her one-year-old daughter. Two children aged 4 and 5. Four lives were destroyed by the recklessness of Andreas Ströbele, a farmer who transported children with the shovel of his tractor during a party. He escaped on Wednesday with a six-month home sentence, a sentence the judge said sends a “message.”
Posted at 2:08 p.m.
“Everyone is aware that this is not a six-month sentence, but a life sentence. He has been serving it since July 1, 2020. He will carry it on his conscience for the rest of his life. “The suffering he must endure is indescribable,” said Judge Gaétan Dumas, who was very sensitive to the defendant, at the Granby courthouse.
Andreas Ströbele, 41, was scheduled to face a lengthy trial next spring on charges of criminal negligence resulting in death. On Wednesday morning he instead pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, which resulted in the deaths of three children and a woman. A publication ban protects their identity.
During a large party in July 2020 in Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge in Estrie, Andreas Stroebele drove his tractor on public roads. There were around ten people in the shovel, including several children. An “unknown event” then led to a real bloodbath on the streets. Neither alcohol nor speed play a role. However, the circumstances of the case – summarized by the lawyers – remain very vague,
On that day, Andreas Ströbele accomplished an “act that many people like him do regularly in this environment.” [alors qu’] “There was never an accident,” the defense attorney downplayed.
To be found guilty of dangerous driving, the defendant's behavior must be significantly different from the behavior of a reasonable person. Such a crime is therefore not a simple mistake or “accident”.
Judge Dumas, who grew up in the country himself, explained that “everyone” liked the defendant back then and that some “still do today.”
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
The three children and the woman died on this road in Notre-Dame-de-Stanbridge.
“The mind has to change. We need to send the message: Stop carrying children around in a tractor bucket. The question is how criminal it becomes. We need to send a message that it has become criminal,” Judge Dumas concluded.
“The public must understand that such actions are dangerous and can have devastating consequences,” argued prosecutor Stéphanie Landry.
The six-month community prison sentence proposed by the parties was “very appropriate,” said the judge. “This is the best ending that could have happened in this case,” he added. This is also the “saddest” act of his 20-year career on the bench.
However, this sentence is particularly lenient when it comes to dangerous driving, in which four people died. For example, earlier this year Éric Rondeau was sentenced to eight months in prison for killing a motorcyclist while trying to avoid ducks on the road.
Despite the grim conclusion, lawyers reiterated that the victims' parents bore no grudge against Andreas Ströbele. “They never showed hostility or revenge. For them it's an accident. Even my client considers himself lucky for his bad luck. The bereavement had a terrible impact on him,” said the defense attorney.
“They are very suffering people. It will be met with relief by the people who witnessed a tragedy with very serious human consequences,” the prosecutor added.