A Repentigny man is on trial for killing a 19-year-old motorcyclist by causing a violent collision while trying to avoid a family of ducks.
On July 22, 2019, Félix-Antoine Gagné was riding a motorcycle on Route 345 at Sainte-Élisabeth in Lanaudière. He was driving in his own lane when he hit Eric Rondeau’s van on a bend.
The latter was traveling in the opposite direction and the motorcyclist had no chance: he died in the impact.
Éric Rondeau, 47, faces dangerous driving charges that resulted in death. His jury trial opened yesterday at the Joliette Courthouse.
At the time of the tragedy, the defendant had just seen a duck and her little chicks pass in front of him on the road. He then parked his vehicle, activated his hazard lights, then turned into the oncoming lane and dodged the birds. At the same time, Félix-Antoine Gagné appeared on his motorcycle.
slow speed
Crown prosecutors Mes Alexandre Dubois and Jade Coderre will try to prove it was the defendant’s change of direction that was fatal to the victim.
In fact, after crossing the double line to be on the opposite lane of the curve, the accused was traveling there at a very low speed, that is to say 18 km/h. The maximum speed on this road is 70 km/h.
“According to our causal theory, the circumstances of the defendant’s deliberate maneuver in getting in the way of the victim represent a marked deviation from the behavior that a reasonable person would have assumed under the same circumstances,” Me Dubois told the hearing room.
Filmed scene
The latter also warned the jury that a “designated,” “impartial, neutral, and silent” witness would be at the heart of this trial: a surveillance camera.
The violent collision was actually filmed in full, he explained.
The video will be shown to the jury during the trial.
The crown needs to call two reconstruction experts. These will further explain the circumstances of the collision, i.e. the trajectory of the vehicles, their speed, but also the perception and reaction time of the people involved.
The defendant is represented by Me Richard Dubé. Trial Judge is Marc-André Blanchard.