An Ontario truck driver who admitted to playing a game on his cellphone while driving and caused a seven-car pileup on Highway 30 in Montreal’s South Shore in July 2022, killing two and injuring 10 others, could face six years in prison. Crown prosecutor Daniele Tiziana is recommending that Baljeet Singh, 29 — who pleaded guilty in April to charges of dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm — serve six years in prison and be banned for 10 years from driving in Canada. Family members of the victims — 11-year-old Loic Chevalier and his mother, 42-year-old Nancy Lefrançois — testified at the Longueuil courthouse on Thursday and shared how the crash has changed their lives. ‘My family is broken forever’ Benoît Lavoie, Nancy’s partner and father of Chevalier, was in the collision as well, was thrown from the car, and spent three weeks in a coma. He missed his partner’s funeral. “I learned that my wife had passed away, then my little boy, and after that, I lost my lifelong job,” Lavoie said. Nancy’s mother-in-law, Melanie Seguin, told CTV News that “my family is broken forever.” Nancy’s father, Denis Lefrançois, called the Crown’s sentencing recommendation “ridiculous.” However, he said no matter what sentence Singh receives, it won’t change what happened. Singh fled to India after the crash on eastbound Highway 30 Brossard, near the border of Longueuil, before being arrested in the U.S. and repatriated to Canada. The judge will render his decision on Sept. 30. With files from CTV News’ Olivia O’Malley
