A Quebec man has pleaded guilty in a 2022 hit-and-run in Montreal that killed seven-year-old Mariia Legenkovska, a Ukrainian refugee who had just fled the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia, of Longueuil, Que., entered the plea Thursday at the Montreal courthouse. The Crown and defence are both seeking a sentence of 12 months to be served at home. A judge will render a decision on June 5.
The tragedy shocked the province. Legenkovska was walking to school with her older brother and sister in Montreal’s Ville-Marie borough on Dec. 13, 2022, when she was hit. The family had just arrived in Canada two months prior to her death.
Police said the driver fled the scene after the collision and turned himself in to the authorities hours later.
Garcia’s plea on Thursday means that he avoided a trial.
With files from Noovo Info.