Quebec man sentenced to 8 months after manoeuvre to save ducks kills motorcyclist

A Quebec man who was trying to protect a family of ducks but ended up killing a motorcyclist has been sentenced to eight months in jail.

Éric Rondeau was convicted in January of dangerous driving causing the death of 19-year-old Félix-Antoine Gagné. He will also have to pay a $1,000 fine and is barred from driving a motor vehicle for three years.

Rondeau's lawyer, Richard Dubé, is appealing both Rondeau's conviction and his sentence. In the meantime, Rondeau has been released pending a decision by Quebec's Court of Appeal.

In July 2019, Rondeau was pulling a trailer behind his F-150 pickup truck on Route 345 in the Lanaudière region when he spotted a family of ducks on the road.

In an attempt to avoid hitting the ducks — and concerned about being read-ended — Rondeau hit the brakes and flipped on his hazards before moving his pickup into the oncoming lane. Gagné, who was coming around the bend on his mortocycle, collided with Rondeau's truck head-on. He died at the scene.

Rondeau told the jury in January that he had been concentrating on his rear-view mirror and hadn't realized he was in the wrong lane until it was too late.