The death of a 16-year-old girl in a violent swerving maneuver that injured three people after an ordinary movie night on Friday seemed like a “slap” in the face to her relatives, who urged caution on our part. streets.
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“Why does it have to be her? laments Anthony St-Georges. It was just a question of space [dans le véhicule]. It could have been a different person in front or on the other side.”
His girlfriend of the last six months, Sarah Fournier, was returning from a trip to the cinema with three other friends when her fortunes changed.
Late Friday evening, the driver of the vehicle in which Sarah was a passenger allegedly lost control for an unknown reason on Route 219 near the Chemin des Vieux-Moulins in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
At the end of the evening, the police carefully analyzed the crime scene. Pascal Girard/AGENCE QMI
Shortly before the tragedy, Sarah Fournier exchanged messages with Anthony St-Georges.
“She wrote to me and I think the accident happened in the same minute,” he describes. Of course I would have liked to say goodbye to him, but we had no way of knowing.”
The vehicle would have overturned before hitting trees. The other girls on board, aged 17 to 19, were also injured, but their lives were not in danger.
2 long hours
Anthony St-Georges says he waited in the hospital for two hours until the unthinkable was confirmed: Sarah did not survive the collision.
Since then, the pain around the teenager has been acute. Her boyfriend and best friend, Ophély Gloor, still wanted to speak to Le Journal to honor her memory.
“She was a really friendly person to everyone,” emphasizes Ophély. She was a girl who really looked far into the future. […] She had dreams and dreams. It was just beautiful to see.”
Anthony St-Georges describes her as “a caring girl” who “had everything to be successful.”
“For me it was the best,” says the person who emotionally remembers the moments of singing with the deceased in the car. “We were a well-coordinated team, always there for each other.”
“A hit”
The Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu police have not identified any criminal elements in this case.
The investigation has been transferred to the coroner to clarify the circumstances of the accident, said spokesman Jérémie Lévesque.
After the tragedy, authorities set up a security perimeter. Pascal Girard/AGENCE QMI
This tragedy comes after a difficult holiday season on our roads.
“You have to be careful when the weather is unstable,” summarizes Anthony St-Georges. If it happens to us, it will hit us in the face.”
At the provincial level, the Sûreté du Québec recorded 7 deaths from December 22 to 31. Since then, no other tragedy of this magnitude appears to have occurred on its territory.
An official review of the holiday season could be presented later this week.
Other collisions occurred elsewhere in Quebec. In Montreal, Michael Chintakis and Augustin Wesley Katimba were allegedly grabbed to death by Antoine Dubuc on the night of January 1st. He is charged with hit-and-run and hit-and-run.