It’s been just over a year since a tragic collision in the Place Vertu parking lot killed one senior and badly injured another. Now, after multiple surgeries and months of intense rehabilitation, the 98-year-old survivor is ready to talk and demand accountability. “I feel better, but I still have nightmares at night,” said Marie Louiza Betson. “They even gave me some pills to take every night, to be able to sleep.” Last April, Betson and her friend, George Spanakis, 89, were hit by a Jeep reversing into a parking spot. “I heard a terrible noise and then I saw a car,” said Betson. “It must have been going very fast because it goes up very high up, and my leg terrible pain.” She was knocked to the ground after being pushed out of the way by Spanakis, who took the brunt of the impact. He was pinned between his own vehicle and the Jeep. According to a coroner’s report, the driver, an 80-year-old man, lost control of his vehicle when his foot was stuck between the gas pedal and the brake, pressing down on the accelerator. The impact pushed Spanakis’ car and another parked vehicle a full six metres. Spanakis died in the hospital two days later. “I miss him, you know, because we help each other, we talk about a lot of things,” said Betson. “We should all be so lucky to be loved by a man like my father,” said his daughter, Maria Spanakis. In the year since the accident, Maria has become close with his father’s friend, helping her with the long recovery. The impact broke two bones in her leg, her pelvis, hip, six ribs and her shoulder. Her son James Torosis, who is a physician in California, says that at her age, it’s a miracle she is alive. “The fact that she had to be total bedrest eight weeks, that’s like a death sentence, almost,” said Torosis. Both families still have many unanswered questions. The coroner ruled Spanakis’ death accidental and police are not obliged to share any information with victims or their families. “Why is there no accountability? Transparency? Responsibility?” asked his daughter. “I lost my dad. Louisa has financial responsibilities, as a result of this, and the gentleman who perpetrated this accident, he’s walking away.” Due to Quebec’s no-fault insurance system, road collision victims are not allowed to sue for damages. Instead, everyone is automatically compensated by the auto insurance board (SAAQ). “Everybody gets money, but everybody gets small money,” said former justice minister Marc Bellemare. Bellemare is a lawyer but not involved in the case. However, he has been fighting against the no-fault insurance system for most of his career. “Victims should be allowed to sue to get a better compensation or more than that,” he said. “The right to sue is the right to know. When you get to the court, you can get information, you can produce expertise, you can ask questions to everybody. The driver, what happened exactly in this accident? It’s the most important thing for the victims and their family.” Quebec is the only jurisdiction in Canada where road collision victims do not have the right to sue. “We are left carrying a disproportionate amount of burden,” said Maria Spanakis. “And this incident, it’s just, how can we have no-fault insurance in Quebec?” Betson says she doesn’t expect to ever fully recover from the collision. “Yeah, it changed my life,” she said. “I have to have the walker. It’s very difficult to go out.”
