The trucker responsible for the 2019 pile-up that killed four people on Highway 440 in Laval had to face a dozen relatives of victims who were present at the opening of the trial on Wednesday for answers.
• Also read: Fatal pileup in Laval: armed (with a truck) and dangerous
• Also read: Deadly pileup: driving his truck due to SAAQ error
• Also read: Pile-up on the A440: Charged with serious negligence
Photo courtesy of the court
This court-filed photo testifies to the significance of the fire that followed the Highway 440 pile-up in Laval in 2019. We see charred broccoli that fell from the truck.
“I just want to understand what happened,” said Nicolas Marsolais as he exited the courtroom.
The latter struggled to hold back tears in the morning after the Crown prosecutor summed up the case, Judge Yanick Laramée.
At the time of the tragedy, the vehicle in which his father was driving alongside his wife caught fire after the impact. Gilles Marsolais and Michèle Bernier, two new Montreal police retirees, didn’t stand a chance.
Throughout the day, the victims’ families had to meet the accused in the Laval courthouse, which was a difficult situation for many.
Jagmeet Grewal is on trial for involuntary manslaughter and assault.
On August 5, 2019, he was driving at 100 km/h on Interstate 440 without ever responding to the line of immobilized vehicles at the entrance to Interstate 15.
Fatal error
“We will show that Mr Grewal’s driving at the wheel of his articulated lorry was dangerous, but even more so that it shows a wanton and reckless disregard for the safety of others,” summed up Chief Prosecutor Me Simon Blais in his opening statement.
The Journal recently reported that the defendant would never have gotten behind the wheel of his semi-trailer had it not been for the grave guilt of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), which gave him his driver’s license. .. inadvertently.
Involved in a traffic accident in the USA in 2012, Mr. Grewal was subsequently declared permanently unable to work as a truck driver, in particular because of his mental health problems.
Despite these findings, he reapplied for a Class 1 driver’s license, which is required to drive a truck. And he got it.
Emotions reignited
According to Crown, at the time of the pile-up, the trucker knew he was unfit to drive. He was actually neglecting to control his diabetes and was taking multiple medications that interfered with driving, Le Journal reported last week.
Disturbing information unknown to victims and families of people who have died until recently.
“The whole story of the SAAQ error worries me, it’s inexplicable,” said Patricia Laplante, who has never been able to return to work since the pile-up due to her injuries.
“We had mourned, the dust had time to settle. But there it is as if we intervene to bring it up,” added Nicolas Marsolais.
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?