Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Laval Police say that two youths suspected of being the perpetrators of a pepper spray attack at a Saint-Martin Blvd. McDonald’s restaurant in January have finally been arrested.
According to the LPD, the two were arrested on Aug. 1 and have been arraigned in court to face charges of armed assault, mischief and using a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
They were released with conditions pending their next court appearance scheduled for Sept. 16.
An armed assault took place around 4:50 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the McDonald’s restaurant.
Although one person was the apparent target of the attack, it also injured dozens of other restaurant patrons, many of them children.
Laval police are urging anyone with any leads on the incident to call the LPD public information line at 450-662-4636 or 911.
Smoke and flames damage house in Laval-Ouest
A fire at a split-level home on 59th Avenue in the the Laval-Ouest sector of the City of Laval caused smoke and related property damage during the early morning hours of July 29.
According to a report posted on social media by Laval Fire Dept. personnel belonging to the Association des Pompiers de Laval, flames appeared to have originated in the garage area of the one-story house.
Family from Laval killed in Ohio small plane crash
A 54-year-old man from Laval, along with a 45-year-old woman and an eight-year-old girl, have been identified as the pilot and passengers who died when a small plane crashed in Youngstown, Ohio as the aircraft was trying to make an emergency landing.
The pilot was identified as Jawdat Khawam. The two passengers were identified as Martine Arseneault and Daphne Khawam. The twin-engine Beechcraft 60 they were travelling in went down near the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport during the early evening last Friday, according to local news reports.
It was reported that Khawam was the president and CEO of UandMyCar.com, a web-based car sharing service similar to Turo.
Police in Ohio tentatively attributed the crash to a mechanical failure during an attempted emergency landing. It was also reported that the aircraft’s left engine apparently failed, after which the pilot lost control following a first landing attempt.
The pilot and passengers were on route west after leaving Plattsburgh, New York, where UandMyCar.com is officially headquartered, according to the company’s website.
Laval man fined $1,572 for car racing on Autoroute 50
A 24-year-old man from Laval had his driver’s license suspended for a week, while also receiving a $1,572 ticket and 12 demerit points, after being caught by the Sûreté du Québec racing his car against another driver along Autoroute 50 near Lachute during the early morning of July 20.
Around 4 am, according to a local newspaper account, officers from the SQ’s detachment in MRC Argenteuil were parked underneath an overpass on Route 327 at a junction with Autoroute 50.
In their report, the officers said they witnessed two cars line up side-by-side in the eastbound lanes of the A-50, following which the vehicles rapidly accelerated.
After pursuing the racing vehicles and detaining the drivers (the other one was from Montreal North), the officers charged them under section 22 of the Quebec highway code.
LPD ticketing electric scooter drivers who violate traffic code
As residents of Laval grow accustomed to seeing electric scooters on the city’s many boulevards, avenues and streets, the Laval Police have been handing out traffic tickets to scooter drivers who burn red lights, drive on the sidewalk or don’t wear a helmet.
According to figures cited by the TVA news network, the LPD handed out 37 traffic tickets to electric scooter operators this year between the beginning of January and July 2.
Last year, the provincial transportation ministry (Transports Québec) launched a three-year research undertaking to determine how to safely integrate Motorized Personal Transport Devices (MPTD) – which includes a range of new vehicles – with other existing types of transportation to see if the highway code should be amended.
According to rules applying during a trial period before any highway code changes are formally made, drivers of MPTDs must be at least 14 years of age and wearing a helmet.
They are allowed to drive an MPTD on any road where the maximum posted speed is 50 km/h, as long as the vehicle they are driving is equipped with brakes.
However, the speed of vehicles cannot exceed 25 km/h, and they must be equipped with red reflectors at the rear and a white reflector in the front. As well, the vehicles must have a white headlight in front for night-time use and an illuminated red light at the rear.
The drivers are also not allowed to carry passengers. And vehicles cannot weigh more than 36 kilograms (including the battery). The fine for breaking any of these rules is $200.
It should be noted that under the proposed rules, most skateboards (motorized or not) would not meet highway code standards because they are not equipped with brakes.
The City of Laval, in the meantime, in conjunction with the transport ministry, has been encouraging the use of electric scooters by facilitating the short-term rental of self-serve scooters (Lime and Bird) as part of a larger effort to combat climate change.