Widower of jogger killed on Parc Ave. calls for stiffer fines for 'reckless' drivers
Motorist who ran red light got $1,000 fine, 4 demerit points for death of Concepción Cortacans, 62
The date is forever etched in André Benyamin's memory: Jan. 7, 2016.
"It was around 11:30 [a.m.]. I got a call. It was the police. They said, 'Your wife was in an accident.'"
Benyamin had just persuaded his wife, 62-year-old Concepción Cortacans, to go for a jog on Mount Royal. She was waiting to cross Parc Avenue just south of Duluth Street.
Once the light turned green for pedestrians, Cortacans jogged into the street, past the city bus stopped in the first lane.
Despite his red light, a 44-year-old man driving northbound in an SUV didn't stop. He slammed into Cortacans, sending her flying.
40 years together
Benyamin rushed to the Montreal General Hospital. Doctors told him his wife was brain dead, but for days, he held out hope.
"Sometimes when I was talking to her, and people were visiting her during the week, [her] tears were falling, and I could feel that she was understanding certain things," Benyamin recalls.
Six days later, Cortacans died.
Benyamin was devastated.
"The meaning of life becomes nothing," he said. "It was almost 40 years we were together. We did everything together. Sports, we travelled everywhere. We loved travelling, hiking, running."
Not criminally responsible
Police investigators ruled the driver's act was not criminal, despite his having run a red light. He was slapped with a $1,000 fine for dangerous driving under Quebec's Highway Safety Code and given four demerit points.
Benyamin is outraged.
"As a victim, as a survivor of this event, I am really stepped on. How such a person can be easily let go and not to be penalized? It is a joke," he said.
Benyamin said after being treated for shock, the driver was allowed to drive home.
There's no sentence – whether if it's a fine or jail – that's going to atone for [the] loss of someone's life.- Criminal lawyer Eric Sutton
Benyamin wants stiffer fines for people he calls "reckless" drivers. He said the man who killed his wife should have his licence suspended for at least a year.
However, criminal lawyer Eric Sutton said that's not how the system works.
"It's not the result that should determine the charge. It should really be the nature of the conduct. Is it misconduct that deserves a criminal charge or is it misconduct that really is only worthy of a ticket?" Sutton said.
"The victim will always feel aggrieved, if there's been a loss of life," he said.
"There's no sentence – whether if it's a fine or jail – that's going to atone for [the] loss of someone's life."
No possibility of suing driver
Even if he wanted to sue the driver for damages, Benyamin couldn't. Quebec's no-fault insurance policy protects drivers from such lawsuits.
Quebec's automobile insurance board, the SAAQ, will compensate Benyamin for the loss of his wife – an amount that could vary between $68,000 to more than $350,000, depending on Cortacans's income and other factors.
For Benyamin, the money doesn't matter.
"I would give everything if only my wife was alive," he said. "I don't give a damn about the financial or other things, as long as she was safe – for me, it was more precious than anything else."