When a fatal crash occurs on Canadian roads, media attention is often brief. For victims and their families, however, the legal process can drag on—or collapse entirely.
That is exactly what happened in a case which, despite its gravity, went largely unnoticed in Quebec and across the country.
On April 7, 2022, in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, a northbound heavy truck on Highway 11 struck a vehicle stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Highway 65.
The impact triggered a chain reaction involving four vehicles. A pregnant woman was killed instantly, along with her unborn child. The second woman in the vehicle, eight months pregnant, suffered catastrophic injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma. Her baby did not survive the emergency C-section.
Charges Laid, Then Complete Silence
Following the initial investigation, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) charged the truck driver, Richard Ouellette, 67, of Dorval, with dangerous operation causing death and dangerous operation causing bodily harm. He was released on an undertaking while awaiting his scheduled court appearance in May 2022, but he never showed up.
For many months, the families received no official updates. It was only after media pressure was applied that additional information began to surface.
“For two and a half years, we had no clue. He didn’t show up in court, and that’s all we were told,” says Jessica Paré, mother of the young survivor.
According to information later communicated to the families, the accused had died in another province shortly after the crash, but the death was not identified or communicated to the victims’ families for more than a year.
A Troubling Parallel With the Baljeet Singh Case
This situation also recalls the case of Baljeet Singh, the truck driver involved in a fatal crash on Highway 30 in Quebec, where Nancy Lefrançois and her son Loïc were killed in 2022. In that case as well, the accused never appeared in court after the collision and left the country, leaving families waiting and searching for answers. Singh was eventually located by U.S. authorities years later and brought back to Quebec.
Although the two incidents are unrelated, they highlight a broader issue that goes beyond the accused themselves. When drivers facing serious charges are not detained or closely monitored before their court date, they can disappear, but the bigger concern is how these situations are handled once they do. Communication gaps between police services, delays in updating families, and unclear procedures leave victims’ relatives without the information they urgently need. For families already navigating trauma and loss, the lack of timely answers adds another layer of distress and uncertainty.
A Tragedy That Reveals Systemic Problems
This crash also sheds light on a long-standing issue in Northern Ontario. Highway 11, despite being part of the national Trans-Canada corridor, runs directly through urban areas, with traffic lights and intersections not designed to handle a constant flow of heavy trucks. For years, local officials have criticized this configuration, which increases the risk of high-impact collisions, especially where vehicles must come to a sudden stop in densely populated areas.
It was in this context that provincial MPP John Vanthof spoke at Queen’s Park after the tragedy. He emphasized that the victims were simply waiting at a red light when the truck hit them, stressing that they bore no responsibility whatsoever. To him, the collision perfectly illustrates the longstanding deficiencies of this highway.
Vanthof even compared the situation to his community’s “Humboldt moment,” underscoring the magnitude of the tragedy. He called for an overhaul of commercial driver training, stronger oversight of truck-driving schools, and urgent fixes at dangerous intersections.
Promises Made, But No Real Change on the Ground
Despite repeated announcements, concrete improvements on Highway 11 remain slow. The Ontario government has discussed adopting a 2+1 highway model, and several elected officials have called for a northern road safety strategy targeting Highways 11 and 17. But no timeline has been released, and technical studies are only in the early stages. Proposed legislation also remains symbolic as long as it is not adopted.
Meanwhile, crashes continue, lives are lost, and families are left to grieve.
A Truth Overshadowed by Silence, Yet Impossible to Ignore
The Temiskaming Shores collision is not just another statistic in annual road reports. It is the story of a family who lost a mother and a baby, and who almost lost another young woman and her unborn child. It is also the story of a legal process that collapsed before it even began.
This case highlights the weaknesses of a system that struggles to ensure consistent follow-up when charges cross provincial boundaries or when an accused disappears from the judicial process.
For the families affected, the lack of answers is an additional wound layered on top of their grief.
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