A Montreal man who has six prior convictions for impaired driving -- and was allegedly involved in a Tuesday night hit-and-run that left a woman in critical condition -- appeared in court Thursday.
Raymond Levesque, charged with drunk driving causing injury after police apprehended him near the scene of the accident, had his bail hearing postponed until May 18.
The victim, 23-year-old Karine Methot, is on life support in Montreal's Sacre Coeur Hospital. Her family has little hope she will survive, and are preparing to donate her organs.
"I'll suffer for this the rest of my life, and he's laughing," the victim's father said of the driver. "I have to unplug my daughter; I hope he's happy about that."
Methot was about to get into the driver's seat of a friend's Hyundai Accent when she was struck by a Dodge Caravan allegedly driven by Levesque.
"It's unforgivable," neighbour Nathalie Rouillard told 愛污传媒.
The accident happened outside Methot's home, and her family heard the impact of the collision from inside the house, according to reports.
"We're being told by witnesses the impact was so strong she was knocked out of her shoes," CTV Montreal's Tania Krywiak said.
Police arrested Levesque, 57, on a tip from another motorist who witnessed the accident and was able to provide a detailed description to police.
He later failed a Breathalyzer test, with results showing he had more than double the legal blood-alcohol limit in his system.
If the victim dies, it could affect the charges against Levesque.
"At this point he appeared in court, he was handcuffed and the prosecutor says a new charge could be laid against him depending on what happens to Karine," Krywiak said.
Prosecutor Martin Chalifour confirmed he will oppose the request for bail.
"He has similar offences in the past, obviously. We think he represents a danger to society," he told reporters.
Levesque's last conviction was in 1996, and he spent six months in jail. When police arrested him for the latest incident, he had a valid driver's license.
In most provinces, repeat offenders face a lifetime suspension from driving. And in Ontario man was recently sentenced to 12-and-a-half years for a drunk driving causing death.
"We have to find a mechanism, the tools, to ground these people," said Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino.
"They just cannot be allowed to drive. It's just like giving a loaded gun to a person who's out of control."
But in Quebec, the maximum suspension for repeat offenders of drunk driving is five years.
In 2004, more than 1,100 Canadian died in traffic accidents in which drunk driving was involved. That averages to about three deaths and 200 injuries every day.
With reports from CTV's Jed Kahane and Tania Krywiak
