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Prosecutors say driver in east-end crash was involved in a street race

MONTREAL – On Facebook, tributes are pouring in for two young men who died way too soon.

Early Saturday morning in Montreal-Est, Jean-Remi Moreau and John-Aly Morno-Legrand were killed inside a speeding vehicle that slammed into a large tree on Notre-Dame Boulevard.

After crashing into the tree, the vehicle then struck a home.

PHOTO GALLERY: Memorial for victims of east-end car crash

Three other young people, including the 19-year-old driver Jean-Richard Auguste, survived the accident. They suffered serious injuries but they are all expected to recover.

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The owner of the home, Johanne Morin, calls it a miracle.

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“I thought they were all dead,” Morin told Global News.

“I looked inside the vehicle and nobody was moving.”

Prosecutors believe the driver was engaged in a “street race” moments before the crash.

READ MORE: Fatal accident highlights dangers facing teen drivers

From his hospital bed Monday afternoon, Auguste was arraigned on 13 charges including multiple counts of criminal negligence, dangerous driving, and possession of marijuana.

If convicted of criminal negligence causing death, Auguste faces a sentence of up to life behind bars – but stiff sentences are rarely given.

Last September, Laval resident Anthony Alfieri was sentenced to less than 4 years in prison for killing two of his passengers in a similar accident.

Alfieri’s vehicle slammed into a lamp-post on De La Concorde Boulevard in February 2010.

At the time of the crash, Alfieri was drunk, high on marijuana, and speeding at nearly twice the speed limit.

 

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