Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A former truck driver responsible for a fiery crash that killed four people on Highway 440 in Laval in 2019 has been found guilty of criminal negligence causing death.
A Quebec Superior Court judge said last week that 57-year-old Jagmeet Grewal had shown a clear pattern of disregarding the life and safety of others and should have never even been driving a 53-foot-truck in the first place.
Four people died in the crash on Aug. 5, while 15 others were injured. Judge Yanick Laramée said the driver wasn’t paying attention at the wheel and that he wasn’t even medically fit.
His truck slammed into a line of vehicles at a speed estimated at between 93 and 100 km/h. According to the judgement, Grewal’s driving license for a truck that size had been permanently revoked by the SAAQ in 2014 after he’d been in a truck accident in 2012.
Sentencing proceedings will take place beginning on May 21, with a maximum possible penalty of life imprisonment without parole for 25 years, although that is considered unlikely.
Convicted killer and father found dead in Laval-des-Rapides apartment
A Laval Police Dept. spokesperson has confirmed that two deaths reported at a Laval-des-Rapides apartment were a homicide followed by a suicide and that the victims were a father and a son, the latter having received a life sentence for murder more than two decades ago.
A police source told media that one of the deceased, a 43-year-old man, was Richard Germain, while the other was his 67-year-old father, Pierre.
The bodies were discovered after the LPD received a request from their counterparts in the City of Montreal on the morning of Feb. 7 to conduct a wellness check on a resident on rue d’Orly in Pont-Viau.
Richard Germain received a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Chrystelle Lavigne-Gagnon, a 15-year-old girl. Richard Germain was granted full parole in June 2022.
Lavigne-Gagnon died after being stabbed repeatedly in August 2000 after being in a brief relationship with Germain.
Germain had previously been charged with eight counts of uttering threats toward the girl.
A Parole Board of Canada report stated that Germain “grew up in an unhealthy family environment steeped in violence.”
Brazen car thieves drive off Curé Labelle dealership’s lot with open hood
The federal government’s pledge to crack down on an organized wave of car thefts that is currently sweeping the country contrasted recently with a glaring example recorded by security cameras at a used car dealership on Laval’s Curé Labelle Blvd.
Two suspects posing as buyers turned up at Auto Karetta a short time before the dealership was set to close for the day, asking to test drive a 2016 Mercedes CLA 45 AMG.
Although a dealership sales rep told them it was too late for a test drive, he agreed to let them start the car and he opened the engine hood. In spite of the driver’s obstructed view because of the open hood, he drove off, striking the employee.
When the driver stopped momentarily on Curé Labelle Blvd. to close the hood, the employee ran to catch up and tried to open a car door, but was pushed away. Investigators with the Laval Police are looking for the suspects, described as a man and a woman who are believed to be in their 30s.
According to news reports, a West Island Mercedes dealership alleged that someone stole a license plate from one of the dealership’s vehicles later on that same day and bolted it to a car that matched the description of the stolen vehicle.
LPD investigating de l’Avenir Blvd. mall murder attempt
Investigators with the Laval Police Dept. have launched an investigation into an apparent murder attempt which took place recently in a shopping mall parking lot at the corner of Saint-Martin and de l’Avenir boulevards.
Multiple gunshots were fired during the incident around 1 pm on February 9. The apparent target was a 33-year-old businessman sitting in a Mercedes SUV.
Shortly before, he had been conversing with a construction contractor regarding renovations to be carried out on a locale at the mall. According to media reports, LPD officers arriving on the scene found the victim had sustained a minor gunshot injury. He was transported to hospital where his condition was reported to be stable.
In a follow-up to these developments, media reported later in the week that a restaurant owned by the shooting victim was damaged by gunfire. On Wednesday last week, the LPD arrested a 27-year-old man after shots were fired into the door of a different restaurant in Ste-Dorothée. Media later identified the victim of the Feb. 9 shooting as part owner of the restaurant, as well as the owner of a used car business in Lachine.