Impaired driver who struck Montreal cyclist receives conditional sentence

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Ohbkba Ameziane-Hassani was biking in the middle of the night in October 2021 when struck by an impaired driver in Montreal. The force was enough to knock him to the ground before the car drove down an alley, dragging his bike beneath it.

Ameziane-Hassani’s ear was almost torn off in the incident, requiring surgery to re-attach it. His hand, arm and elbow were injured to the point he was kept in a hospital for 10 days. He remains too anxious to ride a bike to this day.

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In a recent decision rendered at the Montreal courthouse, the driver, Alen Kovac, received a two-year sentence to be served in the community, despite Crown prosecutors urging the court to impose jail time.

“Despite the very significant and lasting injuries to the victim,” Quebec Court Judge Suzanne Costom ruled, “the sentence to be imposed must prioritize denunciation and deterrence but also leave room for the continued rehabilitation of the accused.”

On the night in question, Kovac, 34, had spent the evening celebrating his daughter’s birthday with his family. He told the court that during the celebration, he received a call informing him his mother had fallen critically ill in Croatia.

Kovac decided to go for a drive to clear his head, he said, despite having drank whisky throughout the night. It was around 2 a.m. when he struck Ameziane-Hassani, though he testified he didn’t realize he hit someone in the moment.

When he then drove down an alley, dragging the bike behind his car, the noise was enough to wake neighbours. When he stopped, they witnessed him get out of his car, screaming and raising his arms after taking his shirt off.

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Once arrested and taken to a police station, breath samples yielded results of 220 and 200 mg of alcohol per hundred millilitres of blood. The legal limit in Quebec is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Kovac told the court he has almost no recollection of driving around that night  —  the incident happened 10 minutes from his home  —  or of the collision itself. Still, he pleaded guilty to the charge of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

Both the defence and the Crown agreed Kovac should receive a 15-month sentence. The defence argued it should be served in the community, while the Crown urged the court to impose jail time.

In her decision, Costom noted higher courts have consistently said severe sentences are needed in impaired driving cases, “given the huge societal problem that (it) represents, and the devastating damage caused by individuals who take the wheel after consuming alcohol.”

But Costom ruled jail time was not necessary in Kovac’s case, opting instead to impose an 18-month sentence to be served in the community: nine months of 24-hour house arrest and nine more to be served between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

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That period will be followed by 18 months of probation and 240 hours of community work. Kovac was also ordered to not consume alcohol during his sentence and was given a two-year driving ban.

Aggravating factors included Kovac’s “very high” blood alcohol levels, the significant injuries he caused and how recklessly he drove. Mitigating factors included his guilty plea and absence of prior convictions. The decision also took into account Kovac’s immigration status as a permanent resident and how the sentence could jeopardize his right to stay in Canada.

In a victim impact statement, Ameziane-Hassani said he still lives with chronic pain from the incident that requires therapy and no longer rides a bicycle, since it induces too much anxiety.

While considering mitigating factors in the case, Costom noted how Kovac expressed sincere remorse for his behaviour, including by reading an apology to Ameziane-Hassani in court.

“He said that every year on his daughter’s birthday, he remembers what he did and that he will carry the weight of it forever,” Costom wrote. “He recognizes that he could have killed the victim and is grateful that this is not the case.”

jfeith@postmedia.com

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