Ottawa Citizen

At last, grieving husband gets his apology

Crash victim’s husband turns attention to how OPP handled investigat­ion

- KELLY EGAN To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@ postmedia.com. twitter.com/ kellyeganc­olumn

Cornwall resident Robert Cadieux finally found his apology, after clawing — to the point of tears — through a justice system he didn’t understand.

Now comes the harder part: getting on with life without his wife, Kristine, and trying to shine light on an adversaria­l process that can shun victims and ignore the value of reconcilia­tion.

Cadieux, 51, is still recovering from an accident on Highway 401 on June 28, 2017, that killed Kristine, 32, and left him with three children to raise alone and a family business in shambles.

His grief only turned to anger when he discovered the offending motorist, Felix Laframbois­e, 20, of Saint-Hubert, Que., had quietly pleaded guilty to a Highway Traffic Act charge in January, leaving court with a $2,000 fine and a valid driver’s licence.

Cadieux only learned of the plea three days later and was furious he couldn’t meet the accused in person — both to hear an apology and offer a victim impact statement.

After a heart-wrenching public appeal, the Crown reopened the case and, on March 27, Laframbois­e — who has shown remorse from the outset — was given an 18-month driving suspension. Perhaps more importantl­y, he was able to apologize directly to the Cadieux family in open court and to hear Robert’s emotional statement about the impact of Kristine’s death.

She died in the driver’s seat that day while he sat inches away on the passenger side.

“As soon as I shook his hand,” said Robert, “I forgave him on the spot.”

Still, the day did not unfold smoothly. Cadieux, who ran a sign-maintenanc­e business with his wife, was part of a group of protesters outside Cornwall court that morning, thinking the proceeding­s started at 10 a.m. But the matter proceeded at 9 in front of Justice Diane Lahaie.

Finally at 9:45, reports Cadieux, a worker from the victim support services office came out to fetch him.

“When we got into the courtroom, I was very confused. I thought court was supposed to start at 10. I was wondering what happened, whether they had done something … behind closed doors again, without our family knowing.”

He was so unprepared, he said, that a court official had to supply him with a copy of his own victim impact statement. He said he borrowed a pair of reading glasses from Lahaie just to read the document into the public record.

“I pretty much cried through the whole thing,” he said Wednesday. He wrote from the heart, ending with a direct appeal to Laframbois­e, who sat a few feet away, dabbing tears from his eyes.

“Look at me and my three children and tell us you’re sorry and will never drive carelessly again. We will forgive you if you can do that.”

And the young motorist, speaking in French from prepared notes, did just that in a way that Cadieux thought was entirely genuine.

“He was absolutely sorry,” said Cadieux. “He intended to apologize right from Day 1.”

He said Laframbois­e, who admitted to falling asleep at the wheel that morning, shook hands with his children and there was a quick embrace with his mother. Cadieux recognizes it was not the fault of the accused that the survivors felt left out of the court resolution.

“He did not get treated fairly. We did not get treated fairly, and this is far from over.”

The court matter now done, Cadieux says he’s turned his attention to how the OPP handled the investigat­ion and whether the Ministry of the Attorney General should apologize to his family for keeping them in the dark during the guilty plea.

He’s since discovered that Laframbois­e was charged by OPP with a provincial HTA offence of careless driving — not a criminal charge — in July, but Cadieux wasn’t informed until November. He still isn’t satisfied with the thoroughne­ss of the police investigat­ion and is attempting to access further police documents.

Now the future awaits. He is still recovering from serious back and neck injuries, holding the household together, and wondering what kind of psychologi­cal support his motherless children will need. The insurance claim, meanwhile, could take a year or two to settle.

Sorry, when the dust settled, was not the hardest word. Gone — as in for good, for all time — will prove the harder one.

 ?? ALAN S. HALE/CORNWALL STANDARD-FREEHOLDER ?? Felix Laframbois­e, left, and Robert Cadieux after the appeal of Laframbois­e’s sentence for causing a collision that killed Cadieux’s wife in Cornwall.
ALAN S. HALE/CORNWALL STANDARD-FREEHOLDER Felix Laframbois­e, left, and Robert Cadieux after the appeal of Laframbois­e’s sentence for causing a collision that killed Cadieux’s wife in Cornwall.
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