A young family is still shaken after their car was rammed and one of them was nearly run down in north Edmonton Wednesday.
Their 31-year-old neighbour is facing three counts of attempted murder in the incident, which police say was unprovoked.
Dianne Lafleur said she was leaving her home near 121 Avenue and 87 Street with her two-year-old son that evening when a car slammed into the driver’s side of their vehicle.
At first, she thought it was an accident.
“I thought I was going to die. He was looking at me like he wanted to kill me.”
Lafleur said the car reversed into hers again and again.
“My air bags went off at that time. I was holding down my horn. I was holding it down so someone, my boyfriend, would hear me.”
Her boyfriend Corey Feschuk said he heard tires screeching and ran out to see what was going on.
“I’m yelling at him at the top of my lungs to stop,” he said. “He puts it in drive and comes towards me.”
Feschuk jumped out of the way, then the car hit a tree. He, Lafleur and their son took refuge inside their house. The boy was scared, Lafleur said.
“I’m just happy that no one is hurt,” Feschuk added. “Everyone is safe.”
Police said the suspect was likely high on drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine. He was taken to hospital for a suspected overdose.
Global News spoke with the suspect’s parents. They said he is a nice, normal man but had recently been having mental-health issues. They said he had been acting paranoid and they were trying to get him some professional help, adding that the incident was perhaps “a cry for help.”
The parents said they “feel really sorry” for what happened and that they hadn’t spoken to or seen their son since Wednesday night.
Police said they had been called to the suspect’s home about two hours earlier because of a family dispute, after which the suspect stole his mother’s Nissan Maxima and drove off.
Det. Scott Nolt said the serious charges were deemed appropriate after consultation with a former Crown prosecutor.
“Obviously, if you ram a vehicle without provocation multiple times, there’s a reasonable outcome that that action is going to cause significant injury and/or death.”
He said the family is working with the victim services unit to recover from the “significant traumatic event.”
Lafleur said she has had nightmares and found it hard to sleep.
“I don’t want to be alone. That’s basically it. Every time a car pulls up, I get scared.”
Amit Mani is charged with three counts each of attempted murder, assault with a weapon and dangerous driving, as well as mischief and disqualified driving. He appeared in court Friday morning and was denied bail.
Watch below: A man has been charged with several charges, including three counts of attempted murder, after an altercation involving a family with a young son in north Edmonton Wednesday night. Julia Wong has the details.
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