markhr
04-18-08, 07:12 PM
Makes for some very grim reading.
edit: see Bikepacker67's post and my reply about reading, or my inability to
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/04/18/5327606.html
By TONY BLAIS,
An Edmonton driver has finally owned up to running over a cyclist in 1999 and continuing to drive while the victim was “still trapped and screaming” under his car.
The man – who was driving an uninsured and unregistered car with a stolen licence plate and did not even have a driver’s licence – fled the scene without helping the badly injured victim and then went on the lam while out on bail until his recent arrest.
Michael Darcy Robillard, 28, pleaded guilty today to dangerous driving causing bodily harm and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
According to agreed facts, Robillard was driving a 1980 Chevrolet Camaro west on 87 Avenue about 9:40 p.m. on May 14, 1999, and only had a learner’s permit at the time.
The victim, Chad Arie, was riding his Champion bicycle west along 87 Avenue and had stopped at a red light at 112 Street and was waiting to turn left to go south.
As Arie began turning onto 112 Street, he was hit from behind by the Camaro and witnesses noted Robillard pushed the cyclist along with his car for several metres
Arie was knocked off his bike and became trapped under the Camaro and Robillard accelerated for a short distance with Arie “still trapped and screaming” under the car, said Crown prosecutor Dennis Chronopoulos.
Witnesses also reported Robillard was moving the car back and forth in an attempt to dislodge the bicycle.
Robillard then stopped, exited the Camaro and walked around it, shook his head and began walking away, leaving the car running and still in gear.
Court heard several witnesses saw Robillard run over the cyclist and at least two of them, as well as a University of Alberta campus security guard, pursued him after he fled the scene, but he managed to get away.
Robillard was later nabbed and witnesses identified him as the hit-and-run driver in a photo lineup.
Arie suffered several lacerations to his scalp with total skin loss in some areas, a fractured pelvis, a fractured leg, fractured ribs and burns to his body and needed multiple skin grafts over a three-year period to repair his scalp.
A mechanical inspection of the Camaro revealed the car’s brakes were inadequate, the front tires were mismatched and the right side wheels were worn down to the wear bars, making them also inadequate. It also appeared as though Robillard had been living in the car.
A pre-sentence report and a psychiatric examination were ordered and a sentencing hearing is set for July 2.
Chronopoulos said he would be seeking a jail sentence for Robillard, who remains free on bail.
tony.blais@sunmedia.ca
edit: see Bikepacker67's post and my reply about reading, or my inability to
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/04/18/5327606.html
By TONY BLAIS,
An Edmonton driver has finally owned up to running over a cyclist in 1999 and continuing to drive while the victim was “still trapped and screaming” under his car.
The man – who was driving an uninsured and unregistered car with a stolen licence plate and did not even have a driver’s licence – fled the scene without helping the badly injured victim and then went on the lam while out on bail until his recent arrest.
Michael Darcy Robillard, 28, pleaded guilty today to dangerous driving causing bodily harm and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.
According to agreed facts, Robillard was driving a 1980 Chevrolet Camaro west on 87 Avenue about 9:40 p.m. on May 14, 1999, and only had a learner’s permit at the time.
The victim, Chad Arie, was riding his Champion bicycle west along 87 Avenue and had stopped at a red light at 112 Street and was waiting to turn left to go south.
As Arie began turning onto 112 Street, he was hit from behind by the Camaro and witnesses noted Robillard pushed the cyclist along with his car for several metres
Arie was knocked off his bike and became trapped under the Camaro and Robillard accelerated for a short distance with Arie “still trapped and screaming” under the car, said Crown prosecutor Dennis Chronopoulos.
Witnesses also reported Robillard was moving the car back and forth in an attempt to dislodge the bicycle.
Robillard then stopped, exited the Camaro and walked around it, shook his head and began walking away, leaving the car running and still in gear.
Court heard several witnesses saw Robillard run over the cyclist and at least two of them, as well as a University of Alberta campus security guard, pursued him after he fled the scene, but he managed to get away.
Robillard was later nabbed and witnesses identified him as the hit-and-run driver in a photo lineup.
Arie suffered several lacerations to his scalp with total skin loss in some areas, a fractured pelvis, a fractured leg, fractured ribs and burns to his body and needed multiple skin grafts over a three-year period to repair his scalp.
A mechanical inspection of the Camaro revealed the car’s brakes were inadequate, the front tires were mismatched and the right side wheels were worn down to the wear bars, making them also inadequate. It also appeared as though Robillard had been living in the car.
A pre-sentence report and a psychiatric examination were ordered and a sentencing hearing is set for July 2.
Chronopoulos said he would be seeking a jail sentence for Robillard, who remains free on bail.
tony.blais@sunmedia.ca