A driver who drove wildly hoping a McDonald’s would be open in the middle of the night has admitted killing a young nurse in Brassard last year and driving away in a cowardly manner.
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On June 24, 2022, at approximately 4:20 p.m., a speeding van hit Clarissa St.-Armand Dell. The errant driver sped off without helping the pedestrian.
The young 25-year-old nurse did not stand a chance and died instantly.
Jose Luis Raymond, for his part, was found a few days later and later charged. On Monday, he confessed to his wrongdoings under the watchful eye of around twenty relatives of the victim in a Longueville court.
A 34-year-old man pleaded guilty to failing to stop following a fatal collision and dangerous driving.
At the moment of impact, Clarissa St-Armand Dell had the misfortune of crossing paths with the accused, who was driving like crazy, looking for a fast food restaurant early in the morning.
In the hour before the clash, Jose Luis Raymond tried five times to get to McDonald’s.
Almost double the range
During his trip, he drove at 145 km/h on the Champlain Bridge, which has a speed limit of 80.
Two minutes after leaving McDonald’s at Dix30, he cut off the victim who was crossing Boulevard de Rome at the same time near Rue Lautrec.
The driver was traveling at a speed of 90 kmph. The speed limit in this area is 50 kmph.
On Friday June 24, 2022, a young woman lost her life after being hit by a van on Boulevard de Rome at the corner of rue Lautrec in Brossard, Montérégie. THIERRY LAFORCE / AGENCY QMI
Photo by Thierry Laforce, QMI Agency
José Luis Raymond did not stop and then left the stage, this time driving at a speed of 130 km/h in the 30 zone.
The accused was betrayed by the wreckage of his damaged vehicle found at the scene of the tragedy. Thanks to an identification number associated with a part of the grill, investigators from the Longueuil Municipal Police Department were able to trace it to him.
His vehicle was impounded the day after the tragedy. The accused had been spending the afternoon with friends at Cascades Park in Rawdon.
The police later also seized his phone, from which they obtained valuable information that allowed them to establish the time of his evening, the places visited and the speed of his travel.
“is relaxed”
Photographs of him taken hours before the tragedy also confirmed that he was indeed behind the wheel at the time of the collision.
In fact, in photos and surveillance camera footage found on his phone, he was wearing a cowboy hat. The same cap was on the passenger seat when the vehicle was seized.
However, the cell phone was seized without a warrant, which suggests that this evidence would not have been admissible if there had been a trial.
The hearing, where the summary of facts was read, was highly emotional. Many of the victim’s relatives wore sweaters bearing Clarissa’s photo.
Stevens Dell, the uncle of Clarissa St-Armond Dell, wore a sweater with a photo of his dead niece as he walked into court in Longueuil on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.
MAXIME DELAND/AGENCY QMI
“It’s cowardice to abandon someone you beat. He could have caused other victims,” lamented Stevens Dell, the victim’s uncle, as he left the room.
Sentencing observations will be held in a few months before Judge Marco Labrie.
The Crown is represented by Marie-Soleil Leclerc and the defense is represented by Melanie Brochu.
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