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The jury trial of a woman charged with manslaughter in a hit and run collision that left a father dead in 2022 began at the Laval courthouse Wednesday afternoon.
Alexandra Gagné-Faucher, 31, of Montreal, is charged with causing the death of Stéphane Taillon, 53, a father of three. On Sept. 15, 2022, Taillon was struck on the service road of northbound Highway 15 in Laval, and died of his injuries.
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Besides the manslaughter charge, Gagné-Faucher is also charged with dangerous driving causing death.
Prosecutor Caroline Buist made the prosecution’s opening statement to the jury Wednesday after it received instructions from Superior Court Justice Éric Downs.
The presiding judge in the trial told the jury the trial is expected to take four weeks to complete.
“On Sept. 15, 2022, Alexandra Gagné-Faucher left the city of Montreal driving a 2008 Hyundai Accent that belonged to her mother. She took Highway 40 heading west and then Highway 15 toward the north,” Buist told the jury.
She added that the vehicle was seen passing other vehicles on Highway 15 before Gagné-Faucher got onto a service road.
“Seconds later, the body of Stéphane Taillon is seen on the roadway. He died afterwards,” Buist said. “Eyewitnesses to the scene will describe what they observed and you can follow that up by validating what they say when you compare it to the testimony of expert witnesses.”
The prosecutor also said the police found items at Gagné-Faucher’s mother’s home that will be referred to during the trial.
The prosecution plans to call 18 witnesses in all, including a pathologist, a chemist and a mechanic who will testify about the vehicle Gagné-Faucher was driving when Taillon was killed.
The first witness is expected to testify Thursday.
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