Angry Father Calls for Tougher Penalties for Reckless Drivers

The sentencing hearing for Dorval resident Edward Hakim, 21, who pleaded guilty to one count of reckless driving resulting in bodily harm, has been postponed to April 7th.

Hakim was speeding alongside a friend’s car and struck St. Lazare resident Patricia Jolicoeur in November 2006 as she was walking her dog in the Saddlebrook area. She sustained massive brain injuries and remains paralysed and unable to speak.

Defense attorney Martin Pilotte said that the delay was due to an incomplete pre-sentencing report. He also said that a bigger court had to be booked for the hearing. A Sûreté du Québec investigator, a doctor and Patricia’s father, Claude Jolicoeur, will testify. Jolicoeur was present at the Valleyfield courthouse and said he was fed up with the delays. He is anxious to present his impact statement. “My whole life has changed. We have been given a life sentence,” he said. “I want to know why there are so many delays. I don’t have closure.”

Pilotte said that Hakim has expressed deep regret over the accident. “He has driven only once since the accident. He has decided that he doesn’t want to drive even though the court did not suspend his right to do so,” he said. He said that Hakim was a good kid from a good family and that he wasn’t drunk or stoned at the time of the accident. He said that he didn’t think Hakim deserved prison time.

Jolicoeur is calling for stiffer sentences for reckless drivers. He said that cars are just as dangerous as weapons and yet the penalties for someone who fires a gun at a person are much harsher than for those who cause harm with their vehicules. Jolicoeur said that the system has to change. “We can’t sue anyone in this province,” he said.

Jolicoeur also denied claims by Hakim’s lawyer that he had asked to meet the Jolicoeur family and apologize. The lawyer said that Jolicoeur had refused to meet with him. “That’s a lie. He only contacted us 4 months after the accident. I never said “no”. We decided that when this is all finished, we’ll allow him to meet Patricia,” Jolicoeur said.