Westboro hit-and-run driver sentenced to 5 years in prison
The driver who killed a man in a hit-and-run in Westboro last year has been sentenced to five years in prison minus time already served.
Tevon Bacquain was speeding away from police when he struck 46-year-old Franco Micucci, who was crossing the intersection of Richmond Road and Kirkwood Avenue, on April 15, 2023.
Justice Marlyse Dumel delivered her sentencing decision at the Ottawa Courthouse Thursday.
The Crown had argued for a six-year sentence, minus time Bacquain had already served in custody, while the defence wanted a sentence of two to two-and-a-half years.
The credit for time served means about three years and three months more in prison.
In reading her decision, Dumel said fleeing police is a serious offence that poses a danger to the public and has a greater degree of intention than simple negligence.
The justice said she accepted Bacquain was remorseful for his actions, but said Micucci's death was "not an accident" and reflected recklessness and total disregard for others.
"Unlike Mr. Micucci, you are going home some day," she said.
Bacquain is also prohibited from driving for five years after his release.
"Tevon is profoundly remorseful," said Joseph Addelman, Bacquain's lawyer, on Thursday.
"Tevon takes full responsibility for his conduct and wants to express how sorry he is to Mr. Micucci's family as well as the wider community that was impacted by his actions."
Police started, then stopped chase
According to materials filed by the Crown when Bacquain pleaded guilty to some charges against him in December, police had seen Bacquain conduct what was believed to be a drug deal several blocks away.
When police tried to stop him, Bacquain sped away to the north.
Officers stopped what Ontario's police watchdog described as a "brief pursuit" due to the risks involved, according to the court documents. However, Bacquain continued to flee at a speed that met the criminal standard of dangerous driving.
Micucci and his wife were in the marked crosswalk and had the pedestrian light activated when Bacquain swerved his vehicle in their direction and struck Micucci.
Micucci and wife Shirlene Byne in an undated photo. (Submitted by Nadya Byne)
Bacquain then continued driving north with a damaged windshield before abandoning the car at a grocery store and taking off on foot.
He was arrested in a backyard about one kilometre from the collision site.
Friends, family disappointed with sentence
Micucci, who was 46 when he died, was a warehouse worker at Team Harding, an Ottawa HVAC business.
Some of Micucci's friends and family were present at the Ottawa Courthouse for Bacquain's sentencing.
Shirlene Byne, Micucci's widow, said she feels the justice system failed her family.
"Whether it has been five years or 15 years or 25 years, it's not going to bring my husband back. However, five years just feels very, very insulting," she said.
She said she relives the events every day and did not feel being spared a trial provided any solace.
"This is what we have been dealt. So we will just move forward as best we can. I'm just glad it's over."
Micucci's cousin Antonio Cassandra called Bacquain's sentence a missed opportunity.
Cassandra was close to Micucci, saying "he was like a brother to me." In a victim impact statement, he referred to how Micucci sacrificed a soccer scholarship to help his parents following the death of his brother.
"I know deep down Franco was a great person and I know he would have forgave him, but right now I can't forgive," Cassandra said.
