Crown appeals acquittal of Quebec City police officer involved with fatal 2015 crash
The Crown is appealing the acquittal of a Quebec City police officer who had faced dangerous death causing death charges for her role in a fatal 2015 crash.
Const. Isabelle Morin sobbed as her acquittal verdict was read out in a Quebec City courtroom on Oct. 30, but her legal battle isn't over yet.
On Wednesday, a week before the Nov. 30 deadline, the Crown filed its appeal.
Jessy Drolet, 38, was killed in September 2015 after crashing his motorcycle into Morin's police cruiser.
He crashed after Morin pulled a U-turn between orange cones separating traffic on the Laurentian Highway which was under construction at the time.
Quebec court Judge Pierre-L Rousseau said in his ruling that the manoeuvre was "unusual" but not illegal and didn't go against the highway code.
Rousseau said his task was not to rule on the tragic consequences of the move, but rather on its legality. He ruled that Morin had had the visibility needed to perform a U-turn.
The Crown, however, disagrees.
In its appeal, the Crown says that Morin's manoeuvre was prohibited by Section 326 of the Highway Safety Code — a section that rules drivers may not cross median separations except at designated spots.
The Crown also says the court erred in its evaluation of Morin's driving behaviour.
