Thursday, July 01, 2010

Dad and daughter killed when car stops for ducks

A 16-year-old girl and her 59-year-old father were killed when their motorcycle collided with the car of a woman who had stopped to allow ducks to cross a highway.

The driver involved in a fatal accident on a highway south of Montreal on Sunday could face two charges of criminal negligence causing death. Quebec law prohibits stopping a vehicle on a highway.

The accident occurred at around 7:20 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 30 and Highway 15 on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River. The mother of the girl and spouse of the man driving the motorcycle were riding on another motorcycle and witnessed the tragic incident.

“The woman was arrested on Sunday night and released,” said police spokesman Ronald McInnis. “We have completed our investigation and have handed the case over to the Crown prosecutor who will decide if charges are laid.”

6 comments:

random said...

I hope they don't charge the poor woman with anything! Even the mother and wife of the victims is asking police not to lay charges. The woman must feel guilty enough as it is!

L said...

So you're supposed to plow through any ducks on the road?

I don't quite understand how this accident happened.  Was the motorcycle driver not watching where he was going?  How do you not see a stopped car in the middle of the highway?  7:20 PM... it should have still been light out.

It's sad, but I don't think there should be charges.  Getting arrested for trying to be kind to ducks seems a bit unfair.

Tom said...

This was on a HIGHWAY? Where cars are going 60-80mph?

Rumson said...

My brother in law ran over a group of geese on a highway. Apparantly they just walked in front of the car. There were cars at his side and imediatly behind him, so stopping erratically would have caused a lot of damage. Someone who witnessed it wrote an angry letter to a local paper, making it sound like he was some kind of murderer. In MY mind, if it comes down to cars colliding and possible injuries, or ducks dying, the ducks lose.

Anonymous said...

if it is safe to stop and let the animal pass then by all means do it..but i see it so many times people slamming on their brakes or swerving to save an animal and causing a situation of danger for other drivers. you dont ever stop your car on a highway for any reason.
to save a duck she killed 2 people.

Anonymous said...

hmm so you are not allowed to stop ok we get ready for people to just plow into rush hour traffic then