Havelock crash conviction

Careless driving guilty plea after victim died in hospital last month after being in a coma for more than a year

The driver who crossed the centre line and hit five motorcyclists during the Havelock Country Jamboree last summer was sentenced last week.

Gary Gilson’s licence was suspended for a year and he received $1,000 fine after pleading guilty to careless driving.

The judgment was made in Peterborough’s Ontario Court of Justice on Oct. 25.

The charge was laid after Gilson drove over the centre line on Highway 7 and struck three motorcycles carrying five passengers.

John Rocheleau and his wife Kathy were on one bike, Andre Rocheleau, John’s brother, was one another and their sister Diane Porter and her husband Brian Porter trailed the group.

They were travelling along the highway on Aug. 19, 2017, getting a ride in before the

festival got underway.

Trauma to John’s head left him in a coma for a year, and he was removed from life support in September and died at the age of 56, according to Toronto-based lawyer Jasmine Daya, who represents Kathy and the Porters.

Kathy’s left leg was severed at the scene and the Porters both sustained fractures.

Andre’s left leg was amputated, and doctors had to rebuild his pelvis and replace his hip.

Harvey Lobb and Rita Gordon were also on a motorcycle riding with the pack, but they managed to swerve and avoid the oncoming vehicle. Lobb grew up with the Rocheleaus.

A crowdfunding site was set up a short while after the collision for the victims. They were in Havelock for the Jamboree and live out of town. Nearly $15,000 was raised.

On Oct. 9, Kathy, the Porters, Lobb and Gordon, along with other Rocheleau family members, filed a civil suit against Gilson and the involved insurance companies.

The complainants are suing for millions, Daya said.