MONTREAL—In court on Thursday, Yvan Grandmaison admitted he snorted cocaine the day he got into the fatal crash. He also admitted he drank three beers at supper time, and took two sleeping pills.
Grandmaison then drove his car for a quick run to the depanneur. On his way back, his car struck and killed Ngan Wong Yee and badly injured her husband Poom Huy Shuy. Grandmaison swears he was alert and says he was distracted moments before the crash and failed to see the elderly couple walking on the suburban street.
He said it was the first time he was using the medication and says the effects kicked-in only once he was taken to the police station. Specially trained officers concluded he was under the influence of drugs. A fact confirmed by urine tests. Relatives of the victims packed the courtroom to hear the accused. They were outraged by what they saw as Grandmaison's attempt at deflecting blame.
“He's trash, let's put it this way, he's trash. In society, people like that should be put away,” said Bill Wong, the victim’s nephew.
The case is a very important one for the Montreal police, it's the first time their squad responsible for detecting people who are driving under the influence of drugs is tested in court.
The team is specially trained to detect the difference between people who are drunk and those who have consumed drugs.
“What people should know is that the police and the state are far better equipped than they were two or three years ago when a driver might be impaired by drugs,” said prosecutor Dennis Galiatsatos.
In this case, the prosecution says the impairment cost the life of woman and destroyed an entire family.
The next step is the verdict and the judge said she'd announce it on March 11.
