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<div>A man charged with mowing down a toddler with his car on his 18th birthday could have been driving two or three times above the posted speed limit, his co-accused testified on Tuesday.
Brandon Pardi, who failed to get the Supreme Court to order him tried as a juvenile instead of an adult, faces a maximum life in prison if convicted of dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death. The penalty for a juvenile is four years.
Pardi's co-accused, who faces the same charges, was indicted as a juvenile and cannot be identified.
The two men were driving separate cars in a residential neighbourhood west of Montreal in October 2007 when three-year-old Bianca Leduc was struck by an auto as she hung Halloween decorations on her babysitter's lawn.
The Crown alleges Pardi's vehicle hit his friend's before spinning out of control.
The court was told Pardi only had a learner's permit and was not supposed to be driving without supervision. His co-accused had only had his licence for one week when the fatal collision occurred.
The co-accused testified that Pardi may have been driving as much as two or three times the speed limit when the cars slammed into each other.
Questioned by Crown prosecutor Joey Dubois, he claimed he lost consciousness following the crash.
"I woke up on the grass [in my car] completely unaware of what happened," the co-accused said.
"I was in a complete state of shock. All I could smell was burnt rubber and gas and I could hear the babysitter screaming."
He said Pardi spoke to him after the crash, head in his hands. "I couldn't stop, man, I couldn't stop," the co-accused said Pardi told him.
Co-accused trying to 'protect' Pardi
Pierre Joyal, Pardi's lawyer, went after the co-accused, who was testifying for the Crown, grilling him on points where his testimony didn't match what he told police or Pardi's own preliminary hearing in 2009.
"I was trying to protect him," admitted the co-accused, whose own trial before youth court is over. He's awaiting a verdict in mid-June.
"Do you feel safe now that your trial is done?," Joyal demanded as the co-accused struggled on the witness stand.
"I didn't do anything wrong," he replied during a series of tense exchanges. "I had my licence and I was driving perfectly fine."
Finally at the end of an intense barrage of questions, he replied: "I've been through enough."
Trial delayed repeatedly
The case has taken three-and-a-half years to get to this stage partly because Pardi's lawyer had argued his client shouldn't be tried as an adult.
The Quebec court initially agreed and said a 24-hour grace period was allowed for someone committing an act on his 18th birthday, citing an Alberta case.
That ruling was appealed by the Crown, and Quebec Superior Court overturned the lower court ruling. The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld that decision in 2009, prompting a Supreme Court challenge and a delay in the trial.
Leduc's mother, Nadine Leduc, was in the courtroom with her new baby daughter. The mother and other family members wore T-shirts with the cherubic blond Bianca's face on them and the logo "Speed kills."
Nadine Leduc told reporters outside the courtroom she has made peace with the co-accused family, who have apologized although Pardi's has not.
"They always look at me like I'm the bad guy who wants to put Brandon in jail but I want them to see that a little girl is dead," she said.
Speeding common in neighbourhood
Residents of the street where the collision happened testified how speeding is a constant problem.
When Jacqueline Thompson saw the approaching cars the day Bianca Leduc was killed, she said she thought, "Here comes another one."
Through tears, babysitter Jacinthe Begin testified she remembered hearing a distinct sound
Brandon Pardi, who failed to get the Supreme Court to order him tried as a juvenile instead of an adult, faces a maximum life in prison if convicted of dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death. The penalty for a juvenile is four years.
Pardi's co-accused, who faces the same charges, was indicted as a juvenile and cannot be identified.
The two men were driving separate cars in a residential neighbourhood west of Montreal in October 2007 when three-year-old Bianca Leduc was struck by an auto as she hung Halloween decorations on her babysitter's lawn.
The Crown alleges Pardi's vehicle hit his friend's before spinning out of control.
The court was told Pardi only had a learner's permit and was not supposed to be driving without supervision. His co-accused had only had his licence for one week when the fatal collision occurred.
The co-accused testified that Pardi may have been driving as much as two or three times the speed limit when the cars slammed into each other.
Questioned by Crown prosecutor Joey Dubois, he claimed he lost consciousness following the crash.
"I woke up on the grass [in my car] completely unaware of what happened," the co-accused said.
"I was in a complete state of shock. All I could smell was burnt rubber and gas and I could hear the babysitter screaming."
He said Pardi spoke to him after the crash, head in his hands. "I couldn't stop, man, I couldn't stop," the co-accused said Pardi told him.
Co-accused trying to 'protect' Pardi
Pierre Joyal, Pardi's lawyer, went after the co-accused, who was testifying for the Crown, grilling him on points where his testimony didn't match what he told police or Pardi's own preliminary hearing in 2009.
"I was trying to protect him," admitted the co-accused, whose own trial before youth court is over. He's awaiting a verdict in mid-June.
"Do you feel safe now that your trial is done?," Joyal demanded as the co-accused struggled on the witness stand.
"I didn't do anything wrong," he replied during a series of tense exchanges. "I had my licence and I was driving perfectly fine."
Finally at the end of an intense barrage of questions, he replied: "I've been through enough."
Trial delayed repeatedly
The case has taken three-and-a-half years to get to this stage partly because Pardi's lawyer had argued his client shouldn't be tried as an adult.
The Quebec court initially agreed and said a 24-hour grace period was allowed for someone committing an act on his 18th birthday, citing an Alberta case.
That ruling was appealed by the Crown, and Quebec Superior Court overturned the lower court ruling. The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld that decision in 2009, prompting a Supreme Court challenge and a delay in the trial.
Leduc's mother, Nadine Leduc, was in the courtroom with her new baby daughter. The mother and other family members wore T-shirts with the cherubic blond Bianca's face on them and the logo "Speed kills."
Nadine Leduc told reporters outside the courtroom she has made peace with the co-accused family, who have apologized although Pardi's has not.
"They always look at me like I'm the bad guy who wants to put Brandon in jail but I want them to see that a little girl is dead," she said.
Speeding common in neighbourhood
Residents of the street where the collision happened testified how speeding is a constant problem.
When Jacqueline Thompson saw the approaching cars the day Bianca Leduc was killed, she said she thought, "Here comes another one."
Through tears, babysitter Jacinthe Begin testified she remembered hearing a distinct sound
