The driver who killed a man in a hit-and-run in Westboro last year has been sentenced to five years in prison minus time already served.
Tevon Bacquain was speeding away from police when he struck 46-year-old Franco Micucci, who was crossing the intersection of Richmond Road and Kirkwood Avenue, on April 15, 2023.
Justice Marlyse Dumel delivered her sentencing decision at the Ottawa Courthouse Thursday.
The Crown had argued for a six-year sentence, minus time Bacquain had already served in custody, while the defence wanted a sentence of two to two-and-a-half years.
The credit for time served means about three years and three months more in prison.
Police started, then stopped chase
According to materials filed by the Crown when Bacquain pleaded guilty to some charges against him in December, police had seen Bacquain conduct what was believed to be a drug deal several blocks away.
When police tried to stop him, Bacquain sped away to the north.
Officers stopped what Ontario’s police watchdog described as a “brief pursuit” due to the risks involved, according to the court documents. However, Bacquain continued to flee at a speed that met the criminal standard of dangerous driving.
Micucci and his wife were in the marked crosswalk and had the pedestrian light activated when Bacquain swerved his vehicle in their direction and struck Micucci.
Bacquain then continued driving north with a damaged windshield before abandoning the car at a grocery store and taking off on foot.
He was arrested in a backyard about one kilometre from the collision site.