Man faces three charges in fatal Laval hit-and-run

Accident in McDonald’s parking lot left grandfather dead, his wife injured

A 28-year-old man charged with killing a 75-year-old grandfather in a hit-andrun accident was granted a conditional release Wednesday after appearing before a judge for the first time.

Michael Del Giacco, a resident of Laval’s Vimont district, faces three charges after an investigation by the Laval police into a Monday morning accident in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant that left Claude Comté, 75, a retired employee of a utility company, with severe head injuries.

Comté, who had two granddaughters, was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead. His wife, Louiselle Comté Lemieux, 73, was also injured in the accident. She was taken to a hospital to be treated for shock where doctors discovered she had also fractured her elbow.

Del Giacco is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death and injury. He also faces an additional charge of illegally causing bodily harm to Lemieux. The maximum sentence for the charge involving Comte’s death is a life sentence.

Before being led away from the prisoner’s dock, Del Giacco looked toward three people in the courtroom who appeared to be his relatives. One of them, a man much older than Del Giacco, appeared on the verge of tears.

Del Giacco was arrested Tuesday morning shortly after leaving his home, about one kilometre from where the hit and run occurred, driving in a Mer- cedes ML500. The luxury vehicle is believed to be the same one that struck the couple in the parking lot and continued without stopping.

“After a very careful examination of the crime scene, and after meeting with numerous eyewitnesses, and reviewing video surveillance (from nearby security cameras) a planned operation was scheduled for Tuesday morning. We were looking for a very specific vehicle — the suspect’s vehicle,” Laval police Sgt. Frédéric Jean said of the arrest. “The vehicle was then seized and brought in to our headquarters for forensic evaluations and sample analysis.”

Del Giacco’s lawyer, Julie Couture, asked that the three charges not be read into the court record, which meant that the accused did not have to enter a plea on Wednesday. Prosecutor Melissa Leonard did not object to his release, as long as Del Giacco agreed to a set of conditions. He is required to make a $5,000 deposit as a bond and is not allowed to drive a vehicle while his case is pending.

Outside the courtroom, Leonard said the presumption of innocence and Del Giacco’s lack of a criminal record played roles in the decision to agree to his conditional release.

The case returns to court on Jan. 22.