Family lays hit-and-run victim to rest as suspect appears in court
Ontario resident Steven Harley Pinnell, who is facing charges in a fatal hit-and-run death of a 79-year-old Montreal woman last weekend, appeared in court briefly Friday as family and friends of Zélia Araujo gathered for her funeral.
Pinnell is charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing death or bodily harm, theft of a vehicle and possession of stolen property.
The Sault-Sainte-Marie, Ont., native will remain in custody until Monday, when he is due in court for a bail hearing.
Pinnell was arrested earlier this week after police received a report of someone driving erratically on a highway near West Nipissing, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police said Pinnell was driving the stolen silver Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck wanted in connection with Araujo's death in Montreal's Plateau–Mont-Royal borough last Sunday afternoon.
Pinnell was on probation at the time of his arrest in Ontario. The OPP have charged him with six counts of breaching probation.
Araujo's funeral was held Friday at the Church of Santa Cruz on Rachel Street, just two blocks from the corner of Mont-Royal Avenue and St-Urbain Street where she was struck and killed.
The church, a pillar of Montreal's Portuguese community, much like Araujo herself, was filled with her friends and family.
In an earlier interview with CBC News, her daughter Maria described her mother as caring, social and, above all, forgiving.
"I think my mom would have been very forgiving, despite what's happened," she said.
