Grieving woman doesn't blame driver who stopped for ducks

Man, 50 and teenage daughter killed when their motorcycle struck car that stopped for ducks

By Monique Muise, The Gazette June 29, 2010

MONTREAL - A woman who lost both her husband and teenage daughter in a tragic collision Sunday night says she doesn’t want to see charges laid against the young woman driving the car involved in the crash.

Pauline Volikakis survived the accident which claimed her two family members on Highway 30 near the 98 kilometre mark in Candiac on the South Shore. Her husband, André Roy, 50, and their 16-year-old daughter, Jessie, were killed when their motorcycle struck a car travelling ahead of them that stopped suddenly when the female driver spotted a family of ducks in the road. Volikakis was riding on a separate bike, which also struck the car, but she was not seriously injured.

It is illegal in Quebec to slam on the brakes in the middle of the highway — even to avoid hitting an animal.

“Charges against this girl won’t bring back the two people who died,” said Volikakis early Tuesday morning from her home. “She saw them die, both of them. That’s enough of a punishment for a young woman of only 20 years old. You can punish her until she is 60 years old, but it won’t bring my family back.”

Volikakis said she did not speak to the young woman at the scene, but expects that she was utterly traumatized by what happened.

“She’s been through enough,” she said.

Both of the victims were from St. Constant and were wearing helmets when the crash occurred, police said.

According to Volikakis, there was no time to react when the car screeched to a halt in the roadway in front of the two motorbikes. It was over in the blink of an eye, she explained, and she is convinced her daughter died on impact.

“I was trying to comfort Jessie, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help her,” she recalled. “André opened one eye, but that was all.”

Several good Samaritans stopped to assist the family at the side of the road, offering whatever help they could as they waited for ambulance and fire crews to arrive on the scene. It took about 20 minutes, said Volikakis — but it felt like an eternity.

“I want to say thank you to those three or four people who stopped,” she added. “They were there from the very moment it happened until the very end. Certainly, it was very unsettling for them to witness.”

Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Richard Gagné said it may take several days for a crown prosecutor to decide on whether or not to press charges against the young driver, who was not hurt in the crash.

“Whether it's ducks or any other small animal, you do not stop unless it is perfectly safe to do so,” Gagne said.

From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/killed+Candiac+when+driver+stops+ducks/3210738/story.html