Senior not criminally responsible for impaired driving accident

ASherbrooke area man was found not criminally responsible for having mowed down a teenager who was walking in the east of Sherbrooke while he was drunk behind the wheel. The 84-year-old, Roger Marmonier, knocked over a pedestrian on February 22, 2016 on 13th Avenue near Des Muguets St.

Marmonier was so intoxicated at this point that it was impossible for the police to take a breath sample and his blood alcohol level, which eventually registered more than three times the limit allowed by law. Police had to obtain a warrant in order to be able to take a blood sample for the purpose of establishing the blood alcohol level

After much discussion and analysis of a psychiatric report on Marmonier’s criminal non-liability, Crown prosecutor Laila Belgharras and defense attorney Caroline Monette proposed that the accused be declared not criminally responsible for the charges under Section 16 of the Criminal Code. Quebec Court Justice Conrad Chapdelaine accepted this conclusion in his order ending proceedings for impaired driving causing injuries and dangerous driving.

By mid-april 2016, Marmonier was released under severe conditions, including that he stay in a seniors’ residence adapted to his condition and he is still residing there. These conditions will be maintained pending Marmonier’s hearing before the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec.