Lac-Megantic couple finds love amid tragedy

CTV Montreal: Couple finds love amid tragedy A Lac-Megantic couple met in person for the first time at the Musi-Cafe the day of the train disaster. They've been inseparable since.

Many horror stories from the night a year ago, when a runaway train devastated Lac-Megantic, focus on the Musi-Café, a beloved hang-out spot in the town.

The majority of victims in the tragedy were trapped there when the building was engulfed in flames. But a small number of people did make it to safety, including two people who were strangers that night, and haven't been apart since.

Julie Heon and Luc Dion had a mutual friend who thought they’d be a good match.

The pair began talking on Facebook, and it was a purely virtual relationship until last July 5th, when things got real.

Heon, a daycare owner, was already at the Musi-Café when Dion, a teacher, walked in just before 11 p.m. They waved at each other, but couldn’t resist the pull.

“I was hoping he would show up,” she said.

Dion was nervous and flushed, he said. Heon made her way over to him, but it was noisy inside so he made a proposal.

“I said ‘You're making me melt like a candy. Let’s go talk on the terrace, there will be less noise,’” he recounted.

The pair went outside and sat at a table. Heon’s best friend was with them for some time, but left around 1 a.m. so the pair could be alone.

That intimate moment lasted for about 15 minutes. They were interrupted by the sound and sight of an oncoming train.

“We heard the sound of the train. Usually the warning lights flash, we hear the ticking sound, but we heard nothing,” Dion said.

“It took three seconds. The locomotives passed…”

“I said ‘That train is moving so fast!’” Heon said, interjecting.

“And I said… well I can’t say that out loud, but basically I said it’s not just going fast, it’s going to de--, I didn’t even have time to say derail,” Dion said.

The sequence, he continued, was as follows: it got dark, they felt the found shake, then everything went orange.

And then they ran.

Dion grabbed Heon’s arm and started running. He purposely led her between the buildings instead of through the parking lot, where her car was parked.

Once she crossed the road, she froze, she says. She thought of her friends, her purse, the things she left inside the bar. And then the voice of reason cut in.

“He told me ‘Go! You have to go,’” she said.

They took off in different directions – they lived in different parts of town, and Dion said as soon as she realized the danger they were in, she immediately thought about getting to her children.

She says if he hadn’t brought her in the direction he did, she probably would have ran toward the street and the parking lot, or possibly would have went back inside the café. Either way, she said she probably would have burned to death.

The next day, Dion’s neighbourhood was evacuated and he called Heon, who invited him over. Soon after, they started dating. After living through the night they had, they quickly became inseparable.

Together, they’re grieving the close friends they lost that night. But they believe they crossed each other’s paths that night for a reason.

“There are no coincidences in life,” Dion said.