Young Montreal man convicted in fatal drunk driving crash to be spared jail time

Despite being found guilty of causing the death of his close friend Noah Lewis Mercier, 22-year-old Julien Segaux of Saint-Lazare gets to avoid jail time.

The prosecution was hoping for two years behind bars. Instead, the judge agreed to a two-year sentenced to be served at home.

“I’m very disappointed about the sentence because the crown suggested a jail sentence of two years less a a day and he received a house arrest sentence,” prosecutor Sylvie Dulude commented outside the Montreal court room.

Segaux and Mercier drove from Saint-Lazare to the West Island around 3 a.m. on Dec. 2021 when Segaux lost control of his Honda Civic on an exit ramp off highway 20.

The car flipped, and both Mercier and Segaux suffered severe injuries. Segaux’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, but because he was a new driver at the time, he was not allowed to have any alcohol in his body.

Mercier would die in hospital a few weeks later.

Segaux sustained permanent brain injuries, which will make him dependent on others to look after him for the rest of his life. He has no memory of the accident and the injuries prevent him from concentrating, studying, or reading, and isn’t likely to hold a job.

His parents testified he was once ambitious in his studies and wanted to have a career.

When it came time to plead on sentencing last fall, his victim’s mother asked for leniency, arguing Segaux and Mercier were responsible for the tragedy and that Segaux had suffered enough.

“My son would have been the first to say it wasn’t Sagaux’s fault,” Marie-Christine Parent had said.

The Segaux and Mercier families were neighbours, and both the accused and the victim were close childhood friends

Mercier was the stepson of Soulange MNA Marilyn Picard

Jail time used to be automatic for drunk driving causing death. But the prosecutor says the judge was likely bound by the court of appeal, which eased sentencing guidelines for this type of crime.

“In the last decisions of the court of appeal, we see that house arrest is given for that kind of infraction,” said Dulude

The prosecutor said she hasn’t decided whether to appeal.