A driver in her early 20s faces two charges of criminal negligence causing death after she came to a complete stop on a highway to allow a family of ducks to cross, causing a collision that killed a teenaged girl and her father.
Andre Roy, 50, and his 16-year-old daughter, Jessy, were riding a motorcycle on Highway 30 in Candiac when they slammed into the car stopped on the road ahead of them.
Roy was pronounced dead at the scene, while his daughter later died in hospital.
The teen's mother, who had been driving a second motorcycle, also collided with the vehicle and suffered serious injuries.
She remains in hospital in serious condition.
Surete du Quebec Sgt. Ronald McKinnis said the young woman who stopped on the highway actually got out of her car to help the ducks.
Stopping a vehicle on a highway is prohibited in the province of Quebec.
-From CTV.ca-
Senseless
Accident update
"I'm lucky that I'm alive today, seriously. I have a hard time not getting emotional talking about it," says Alain Belanger.
Belanger was injured on Saturday while travelling in a 10-motorcycle formation that was heading to CFB Gagetown to serve as a wedding escort.
Belanger, and the groom, Frank Bouchard, were in the fifth and sixth positions of the "staggered-packet" bike formation when a Ford station wagon drifted across the centre line on Lincoln Road near Oromocto, N.B., and plowed into the motorcycles.
Belanger and Bouchard were the worst injured in the crash that sent four of the motorcyclists to Fredericton's Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital.
Groom hit first
"I was sure my friend was dead — Frank there — because of the way it happened," Belanger told CBC News from the hospital. "It happened so fast but I saw his bike basically go to pieces and he was still on it — and the sound of the impact."
The driver of the car initially nicked the handlebars of one bike before colliding with the bikers in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth positions.
The motorcyclist in the 10th position also went down when an unrelated car that had fallen in between the ninth and 10th bikes suddenly braked to try to avoid the accident. The rider chose to lay her bike down and slide into the rear of the vehicle rather than risk a worse collision.
Belanger said when he was hit he didn't lose consciousness.
"I remember rolling into the ditch," he said. "I tried to get up and I was yelling for him [Bouchard] right away and I wanted to get to him but then I realized I couldn't go anywhere. My arm was broken and my leg was broken."
Belanger's leg was broken in four spots below the knee, with an open fracture that had turned his foot toward his knee.
The motorcyclists were all members of a Fredericton-area club known as the Passchendaele Unit, which is part of the Canadian Army Veteran Motorcycle Units association.
Motorcyclists began administering first aid
All of the riders, who were in their 30s and 40s, were either veterans or serving soldiers, Belanger said, and their first aid training kicked in.
The other motorcyclists began treating Bouchard and himself, Belanger said.
Belanger, Bouchard and another rider are still in the hospital in stable condition.
'I can't wait for next spring, so I can ride again'—Alain Belanger, crash victim
The injuries include broken legs, broken arms, broken noses, severed nerves, concussions, whiplash and road rash.
"We were really lucky," he said.
Belanger said he has served overseas four times, but has never broken a bone before.
And he says the crash won't stop him from riding.
"Something like that happens, you know, you've got to carry on, right," Belanger said. "You can't focus on that all the time. Can't wait; now I know I won't be riding this year, but I can't wait for next spring, so I can ride again."
Belanger said he had made a pact with another rider involved in the crash that they will both get back on their bikes and that when they do they will take that first ride together.
Police have not yet laid any charges in the accident and the investigation is continuing.
The driver of the car had a small child aboard. Neither was injured.
Police have said that inattentive driving due to driver distraction was likely a contributing factor in the crash.
Disgusting...
Four motorcyclists, including a bridegroom, who were headed to CFB Gagetown for a wedding were rushed to hospital on Saturday after a multi-vehicle collision.
A car drifted across the centre line on Lincoln Road near Oromocto, N.B., around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday and plowed into 10 members of a motorcycle club who were on their way to provide a wedding escort as a surprise for the bride, police said.
The groom was leading the group down the road toward the military base, where the wedding was to be held. He was struck, along with four other motorcyclists, as the car crossed the line. His injuries were among the most severe.
The driver of the car appeared to initially nick the handlebars of one of the bikes before driving into the first and second motorcyclists, said Graham Leslie, who was riding in the ninth position of the staggered-packet bike formation.
The car then appeared to lose control and spun around, striking a third and fourth motorcycle before having more minor collisions with the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth bikes in the formation, Leslie said.
"I couldn't believe this was happening in front of me," Leslie said. "To me, it seemed to be happening in slow motion."
Leslie said his more than 30 years of experience helped him avoid the collision.
The motorcyclist in the 10th position went down when an unrelated car that had fallen in between the ninth and 10th bikes suddenly braked to try to avoid the accident. The rider chose to lay her bike down and slide into the rear of the vehicle rather than risk a worse collision, Leslie said.
Groom worst injured
Four of the motorcyclists were rushed to Fredericton's Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital. Three were in serious condition, while one was treated and released.
The motorcyclists who were hit are lucky to be alive, Leslie said.
Broken legs, broken arms, broken noses, concussions and whiplash are among the injuries that the motorcyclists received in the accident, Leslie said.
The groom was the worst injured, Leslie said.
Inattentive driving due to driver distraction was likely a contributing factor in the accident, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Gary Cameron.
No charges have been laid yet and the investigation is continuing.
The driver of the car had a small child aboard. Neither was injured.
The motorcyclists are members of a Fredericton-area club known as the Passchendaele Unit, which is part of the Canadian Army Veteran Motorcycle Units association.
The injured riders, all males, are in their 30s and 40s.
(Taken from CBC news)
The Road
So there it is, the place where Selene had a bit of a lie down. It happened a few feet below the dark patch of pavement. In an odd bit of irony, one of the places that could fix the saddle bags was in the same area that we had the "incident".
As for the repairs, here's the deal. I'm not getting a new front fender as the cost is a little on the prohibitive side. Instead, I'll be purchasing the National Cycle chrome fender tip. It will nicely cover the scuff mark on the the fender and should look good as well.
The shift lever is going to take some doing. I can't seem to bend it back in place and I don't have the tools to be able to do it without scratching the hell out of it.
The last thing is the saddle bag. We spent most of yesterday searching for an autobody shop that could get them back to original condition. It took some doing and a bit of travel, but we found a place that will fix them up for 200 bucks and also fix the "extra" holes me and my dad drilled in them. They should be ready by tomorrow, but I won't be picking them up until Monday due to work.
Once that's done, it's back to the parking lot for turn practice.
Update
I can't say I'm over this. It still bugs me and I keep seeing everything replay in my head. Keep wondering what I could have done differently. The only thing that comes to mind is that I shouldn't have been turning on an incline. I know it can be difficult and at low speeds it's even harder.
But it's done and now we have to fork over more cash to get Selene fixed up. Money that should be going to a new seat or Joey's training course so she can get her license.
We were out for a nice ride at night and I steered us into an area that I wasn't familiar with. We were kinda lost/exploring when I decided that we should just turn around and go back the way we came. I tried to pull a U-turn and the weight shifted too much. I tried everything to stop the bike from going down, but there was nothing I could do.
Joey managed to step off the bike, due to the saddle bag keeping the bike up. I stepped off as well, but mainly due to the fact that I was trying to keep Selene up. She made contact on four points; the front fender, the shift lever, the clutch lever and the left saddle bag. It's not a great amount of damage and she is still very much road worthy, but my heart sinks everytime I look at her.
Without further ado, here are the pictures:
As you can see, things aren't too bad. The saddle bag is the worst of it. The impact and drag actually gouged out a layer of fiber glass. I'm not sure if it will be easier to order a new one or get this one repaired. We've decided not to replace the front fender simply due to the fact that the cost is outrageous. It would cost $627.05 CAD to get a new one. Over six hundred bucks for a plastic fender! I have no words to describe how insane that price is.
It's going to take some pull to get that shifter back in place and I can polish off Joey's boot marks. I'm quite used to that anyway. I'm guessing some fine grit sandpaper will help me remove the scuffs on the the clutch lever and the kick stand.
So there you go. That was our wonderful night. As I said before, aside from some very sore muscles, we are fine. Honestly, my ego was hurt more then anything else...and it's going to take a while for that to heal.
Earlier
So, here is how beautiful Selene was looking earlier this evening
About an hour later I was fighting to keep her upright while Joey fought to not get trapped underneath her. The brand new saddle bags helped prevent that from happening.
Pictures of the damage and an explanation will come when I get up the nerve to go look...
On a side note; we are very sore, but fine.
