An impatient driver who killed a cyclist at a pedestrian crossing in Longueuil by aggressively overtaking stopped cars is now hoping to avoid a prison sentence.
Also read: An impatient driver who killed a cyclist at a pedestrian crossing.
Mohammad Ali Mahmoodi caused the death of René Tremblay on July 23, 2020 in Longueuil. The victim was stopped at a crosswalk between the four lanes of Jacques-Cartier Boulevard West. The 52-year-old man waited to make room for him.
A driver had stopped, forcing other cars behind him to do the same, and signaled the cyclist to cross.
But as he ventured onto the tracks, the accused appeared between two vehicles and killed him by mowing him head-on.
He has since been convicted of dangerous driving causing death. But he continues to deny his criminal wrongdoing.
Photo Pierre Paul Poulin
The defendant Mohammad Ali Mahmoodi during his trial last year at the Longueuil courthouse.
He addressed the court on Friday, expressing his “deepest condolences” to Mr Tremblay's relatives and saying he regretted the impact the death had had on their lives.
Clemency hoped
He added: “It is my understanding that this is a tragic accident.”
He therefore asked the judge for leniency and begged him to impose a prison sentence to be served at home. His lawyer, Me Mario Lavigne, suggested a sentence of two years less per day.
For its part, the Crown, represented by Me Marie-Soleil Leclerc, is convinced that a prison sentence is necessary to send a message to “reckless” drivers, adding that they are not kings of the road and that they share it must.
She recalled that this tragedy could have been avoided if the defendant had not wanted to gain time that day and that he had acted “at the risk of the victim's life”.
Photo QMI Agency, Erik Peters
She recommends a prison sentence of 30 months.
“The defendant was clearly traveling too fast to react appropriately to the danger observed by the other drivers,” concluded Judge Dominique Dudemaine when he announced his guilty verdict last fall.
Full throttle
One of the witnesses was also alerted by the roar of the driver's Mercedes E400 as he drove between the stopped vehicles.
“I heard an engine revving as if you were accelerating, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a car crossing between the two lanes and coming,” he testified.
Another witness noticed that Mohammad Ali Mahmoodi had accelerated so hard that the rear of his vehicle was crushed.
“He drove towards the bike path at full speed,” he said.
According to the judge, the defendant's maneuver was contrary to the behavior of those around him.
After the collision, the cyclist was thrown high into the air before falling to the ground.
Decency
René Tremblay was fatally shot in Longueuil on July 23, 2020. Courtesy of Lajeunesse Fortin Cenac Funeral Home
Mr Mahmoodi will receive his sentence in the coming weeks.
He also appealed the guilty verdict.
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