The mother of the victims killed by an at-fault truck driver, her eyes glued to her cell phone, spoke out a few days later The newspaper has obtained disturbing video of the tragedy.
• Also read: “It sends a strange message”: The father of the two children killed by a trucker is too engrossed in his cell phone and regrets the five-year prison sentence
• Also read: [VIDÉO] Laval family decimated in Ontario: Two children and their grandmother were killed because the offending truck driver had his eyes glued to his cell phone
In April 2022, the vehicle carrying Anik Legault, her mother, brother and two children was struck head-on following a traffic jam on Highway 401 in Belleville, Ontario.
The family was returning from an Easter weekend in Toronto.
Émérik Giroux, 7 years old, Maélie Giroux, 3 years old, and their grandmother Chantal Dendooven-Legault, 68 years old, who were sitting in the back of the vehicle, were killed.
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Anik Legault and his brother, who was sitting in the front, escaped with minor injuries but have since had to live with the loss of their loved ones.
“When we had the impact we never saw anything. What really reassures me is that my mother and my children did not suffer. “It really happened in that moment,” she shared in her first interview since the tragedy.
Anik Legault is horrified by the serious injuries to her relatives and describes the minutes after the impact as “surreal”.
“My brother took out the bodies of my mother and my two children. When we see the state of injuries, my daughter's disfigurement and my husband's cracked skull bone, we realize that this is the end,” she said in an emotional tone.
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Mehakdeep Singh, the truck driver accused of dangerous driving causing death and injury, was too busy texting while driving before the tragedy.
The violent collision he caused earned him a five-year prison sentence, a sentence that takes into account both his sincere remorse and his clean criminal record.
Forgiveness is difficult for the grieving mother and her loved ones, especially given the revelation of evidence that Singh's eyes were glued to his cell phone.
“It wasn't the first time he'd done it. “The investigator who was part of the lead investigation team told us that there wasn't a 15-minute sequence inside the truck where he wasn't looking at his phone,” she told Current Files during her interview.
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Even if the prison sentence is disproportionate to the damage caused to the members of the decimated family, for Anik Legault it “will not bring back the happiness that was lost”.
“Since the accident, I have realized that there are so many people around me who care about me. He remains my father, my brother, my friends, my work colleagues. I met someone who also has children. A lot will happen, I’m convinced,” she concludes.
*Watch the full interview in the video above*