The mother of those killed by the errant trucker spoke days later with her eyes glued to her cell phone. Newspaper A disturbing video of the tragedy is available.
• Read more: ‘It sends a strange message’: Father of two killed by trucker regrets five-year prison sentence for sucking on his cellphone
• Read more: [VIDÉO] Laval family devastated in Ontario: Two children and their grandmother killed after errant truck driver kept eyes glued to cell phone
In April 2022, a vehicle carrying Anik Legault, her mother, her brother and her two children collided head-on following a slow-down in traffic on Highway 401 in Belleville, Ontario.
The family was returning from an Easter weekend in Toronto.
Émérik Giroux, 7, Maélie Giroux, 3, and their grandmother Chantal Dendooven-Legault, 68, died in the back of the vehicle.
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Anik Legault and his brother, who were seated in the front, escaped with minor injuries but have since had to live with the loss of their loved ones.
“When we had an impact, we didn’t see anything. It was very reassuring to me that my mother and my children were not affected. It really happened this time,” he shared in his first interview after the tragedy.
Faced with the horror of seeing her loved ones seriously injured, Anik Legault describes how the minutes following the impact were “so surreal”.
“My brother took out the bodies of my mother and my two children. Seeing the injuries, my daughter mangled, and my boy with a fractured skull, we realize this is the end,” he said in an emotional tone.
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Truck driver Mehkdeep Singh, charged with dangerous driving causing death and injury, was too busy texting while driving before the tragedy.
The violent confrontation he caused earned him a five-year prison sentence, which took into account his sincere remorse and his clean criminal record.
For the grieving mother and her loved ones, forgiveness is difficult, especially with Singh revealing evidence of his eyes glued to his cell phone.
“It’s not the first time he’s done it. The investigator who was one of the main investigators told us that there wasn’t 15 minutes of footage inside the truck where he didn’t look at his phone,” he said during his interview. Current cases.
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While a prison sentence doesn’t match the damage done to the loved ones of the devastated family, for Anique Legault, it “doesn’t bring back the joy” she lost.
“After the accident, I realized that many people around me care about me. He is my father, my brother, my friends, my work colleagues. I met a man who had children. There’s a lot more to come, I’m sure,” she concludes.
*Watch the full interview in the video above*
