Teen driver faces criminal charges in girls’ deaths

An 18-year-old Ottawa man has been charged in connection with a June 18 crash on Fernbank Road in Stittsville that killed two teenage girls and sent a third girl to hospital.

According to Ottawa police, the man was driving a vehicle from a bush party on Fernbank with three other passengers.

The car went out of control and left the road, crashing into a ditch around 9:20 p.m.

Two of the passengers in the vehicle, Michaela Martel, 18 and Maddie Clement, 17, succumbed to their injuries at the scene. Clement was the mother of a 14-month-old girl.

The third passenger, another teenage girl, suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment, but has since been released.

Chris Galletta, 18, of Ottawa is charged with driving offences, including two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm, two counts of criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

He appeared in court Wednesday.

The maximum penalty for a charge of dangerous driving causing death is life in prison, and dangerous driving causing bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Mark Ertel, Galletta’s lawyer, said the experience has been trying on him and his family and that the charges caught them by surprise.

“He obviously feels terrible about what happened,” Ertel said.

Ertel said Galletta plans to plead not guilty. “Those people who have jumped to conclusions will be surprised when they hear the full story,” Ertel said.

Galletta has no previous criminal history.