MONTREAL, Que. – A 37-year-old man will be arraigned in Joliette Monday on charges of criminal negligence relating to a tragic snowmobiling accident that has left his 8-year-old daughter in intensive care with life-threatening injuries.
Although the accident happened at 2 a.m. on Jan. 3, the man didn’t bring his daughter into the hospital until 5 p.m. later that same day.
Hospital authorities contacted police and an ensuing investigation led to the man’s arrest on charges of criminal negligence causing serious injury.
The man had custody of his daughter over the New Year’s weekend and the girl’s injuries have left his estranged wife, the girl’s mother, in a state of shock.
The girl suffered serious injuries when the snowmobile her father was driving crashed into another snowmobile. Constable Céline Saint-André of the Mascouche police force said the neurosurgeon who operated on the girl said there is no doubt excessive speed contributed the gravity of the girl’s wounds.
The girl suffered a fractured skull, facial fractures and jaw lacerations.
The man brought his daughter into the Pierre Le Gardeur Hospital in Terrebonne at 5 p.m. on Jan. 3. The hospital transferred her to Ste. Justine Hospital in Montreal.
Mascouche police originally had no record of a snowmobiling accident on Jan. 3, but detectives have since identified the accident scene, said Saint-André. Various bits of debris found at the scene will be used as some of the evidence against the father in court. A bail hearing is to be held later this week.
The father cannot be identified in order to protect the identify of the underage victim.
Saint-André said it didn’t look like the girl was wearing a helmet. She said empty beer bottles were found at the accident scene near the intersection of Highway 25 and Blvd. St. Henri.
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