The trial of an East Angus motorist suspected of driving while impaired and causing the death of his passenger began at Sherbrooke Courthouse in Estrie on Monday.
The defense disputed the admissibility of the blood samples that led to his arrest seven months later.
The incidents alleged against Jacques Brodeur date back to September 2020. On the evening of September 16, after a round of golf and a meal at a licensed establishment in Stratford, Jacques Brodeur was involved in a swerving maneuver on Route 112 near Dudswell.
Three young people who witnessed the accident told the court that they narrowly avoided a collision with the defendant's vehicle, which crossed into the oncoming lane before crashing into a ditch.
The three witnesses turned to help the driver and his passenger, and the defendant is said to have refused their help in an annoyed, even aggressive tone.
Jacques Brodeur reportedly said he fell asleep at the wheel and there was no need to call emergency services.
What the witnesses did after they left the scene of the accident.
The passenger, Richard Champagne, suffered an initial cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital.
Unfortunately, the 64-year-old man's death was confirmed a few hours later.
It was police officer Kathy Faucher who arrested the 59-year-old defendant in the hospital. After giving him the right to contact a lawyer, she requested that a blood sample be taken for analysis.
As part of a motion to exclude, the defense seeks to suppress that portion of the evidence, an important but non-essential element in proving that the defendant was impaired at the time of the accident, prosecutors said. Prosecution, Me Geneviève Crépeau.
Jacques Brodeur was arrested and charged seven months after the events.
The prosecution will call thirteen witnesses during this trial, which will take place before Judge Paul Dunnigan of the Quebec Court.