Man pleads guilty in hit-and-run that killed 7-year-old Ukrainian girl in Montreal

MONTREAL — The driver who struck and killed a seven-year-old Ukrainian refugee in 2022 delivered an emotional apology to the girl’s family on Thursday after pleading guilty to failing to stop after an accident.

Dressed in a blue suit and speaking softly in Spanish, Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia told Mariia Legenkovska’s family that the pain he caused them would stay with him forever.

“I commit to carry with me the memory of your daughter and to honour her life,” the 46-year-old told a packed Montreal courtroom in a speech that was translated into French and Ukrainian. “I hope that with time you can find the strength to forgive.” 

Through an interpreter, he confirmed that he wanted to plead guilty to the fatal hit-and-run.

Seven-year-old Mariia was walking to school with her brother and sister on Dec. 13, 2022, when Becerra Garcia’s Jeep Grand Cherokee ran into her. He drove away from the scene without stopping but turned himself in to police later that day.

Both defence and prosecution agreed in a statement of facts that the sun was blinding that morning and the accused didn’t see the child. Defence lawyer Eric Coulombe told the court that his client had felt a bump against his car but hadn’t realized he might have hit someone until he saw news reports of the girl’s death.

Coulombe said that, while the death was a tragic accident, his client recognizes that he should have stopped to make sure he hadn’t hit anyone. 

“If we don’t know what we hit and we roll over something, a citizen has a responsibility to get our of their vehicle,” the lawyer told the court. 

Mariia and her family moved to Montreal in 2022 to escape the Russian invasion of their country.

Her father, Andrii Legenkovska, was fighting for Ukraine’s territorial defence forces when she was killed, and he travelled to Montreal from the front lines to bury his daughter. The father now lives in Montreal with his family, the Crown prosecutor said Thursday.

The girl’s death prompted an outpouring of sadness in Montreal’s Ukrainian community and beyond, and questions were raised about the safety of the road network where Mariia was killed.

Coulombe said Becerra Garcia is “devastated” by what happened. He said his client is a father of two who moved to Canada from his native Mexico several years ago to offer his children a better and safer future.

“He has probably a similar story to that family,” he said, referring to the Legenkovskas. “He wanted to come to Canada to have a better life.”

Both the Crown and the defence suggested a sentence of 12 months of house arrest, and Becerra Garcia’s driver’s licence will remain suspended, Coulombe said.

While Mariia’s mother was present Thursday, she declined to address the court. But Crown prosecutor Sylvie Dulude said it was important to the family to hear the accused accept responsibility.

“She was looking for the plea of guilt for the accused, and for two years she’s been looking for that,” Dulude told reporters after the hearing. “She said she was at peace with this.”

Dulude said the Crown agreed with the sentencing suggestion due to Becerra Garcia’s lack of criminal record, the fact that he was sober and driving safely at the time of the accident, and his cooperation with police.

She said that he wouldn’t have been charged at all had he stopped after the accident, and he might never have been caught if he hadn’t turned himself in.

“I do believe him when he said that he has remorse,” she said. “It’s a big tragedy for every person in this file.”

Quebec Superior Court Justice Pierre Labelle said he would consider the sentencing recommendation and render his decision on June 5.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2024.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press