Gaétan Barrette's son gets 8 months house arrest for hitting cyclist and driving away

Geoffroy Barrette has been sentenced to eight months of house arrest for hitting a cyclist with the car he was driving and then fleeing the scene.

The sentence handed down Thursday was suggested by both the Crown and the defence at the Montreal courthouse.

It was established in court that the son of Liberal MNA Gaétan Barrette was returning from a late-night party on Oct. 13, 2017.

He was driving his father's car on Rachel Street near St-Dominique Street in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough when he struck a cyclist.

At the time, police said the cyclist, then 27 years old, was not wearing a helmet and suffered serious head injuries, but the court heard he has since fully recovered.

Police had said the driver fled the scene at a high speed, going the wrong way on St-Dominique Street, but a witness was able to provide the license plate number and Geoffroy Barrette was later arrested.

At his sentencing, Geoffroy Barrette expressed deep regrets for what happened.

During his house arrest, he will not be able to consume alcohol. He has also been ordered to pay the victim $1,000 for the damage to his bicycle.

Gaétan Barrette, who attended the sentencing, was Quebec's Minister of Health and Social Services at the time. Now he is the official opposition critic for transport.

In a statement released soon after the collision, the provincial legislator said he was "shocked" to learn of his son's arrest and that his thoughts were with the victim and his family.