Reckless Driving Sentencing

On January 28, Ed Hakim, 20, will be sentenced at the Valleyfield courthouse on one count of reckless driving causing bodily harm to which he pleaded guilty in a plea bargain which resulted in one count of criminal negligence and a hit and run charge to be dropped. Hakim was the driver of the car that hit St Lazare resident Patricia Jolicoeur, who was 27 at the time, on November 29, 2006 while she was walking her dog. She sustained massive brain and bodily injuries and is not expected to recover fully. A victim impact statement by Jolicoeur’s father Claude, testimony of the first witnesses on the scene of the accident, as well as Hakim’s probation officer’s report will be reviewed by the judge prior to sentencing. The maximum penalty for the reckless driving charge is 10 to 14 years. Hakim could be sentenced to two years minus a day to be served in the community. Sûreté du Québec officers said Hakim was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, nor was there any evidence of drag racing. At Hakim’s bail hearing last September the young man’s father, Ed Hakim, Sr said that what happened to Jolicoeur was horrible, and that the accident affected the lives of both families. « This tragic accident occurred because of a momentary lapse of judgement, » Hakim Sr. said. « My son is only 20 years old -he will pay for this for the rest of his life, » he said. Jolicoeur has said on local radio shows and to media that his daughter is the one who is serving a life sentence.