Court Hears Scathing Impact Statements From Westboro Hit-and-Run Victims

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On a beautiful April day, not unlike the April day a year ago when she walked for the last time hand in hand with her husband, Shirlene Byne stood in an Ottawa courtroom and spoke of the loss, the pain and anger.

The “high-impact” loss was that of her husband of 21 years, Franco Micucci, who was hit by a driver fleeing police as the couple crossed Richmond Road on one of their late-night walks through their Westboro neighborhood.

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The pain was for his children, whose world, he said, was turned upside down that night of April 15, 2023.

The anger was reserved for Tevon Bacquain, 23, who pleaded guilty to fleeing police and failing to remain at the scene after hitting Micucci, leaving him slumped and bleeding on the road with a catastrophic brain injury. He died six days later in the hospital after being taken off life support.

“You will never have the benefit of my acquittal for what you did to my husband, my family and our friends,” Byne said, looking at Bacquain in the prisoner’s box as she read a victim impact statement in court Thursday. . “You will not have the privilege of my mercy because you certainly did not show it towards Franco.”

Micucci was a man whose life revolved around his children, she said. One that made strangers feel welcome and his family feel protected.

“Not once in our two decades together did he let me walk on the outside side of the sidewalk,” he recalled.

“Franco’s capacity for kindness, compassion, generosity, humility and love was infinite. “That’s what made him truly unique in this self-centered world.”

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Byne’s was the first of six scathing victim impact statements read into the record at a sentencing hearing before Ontario Court Justice Marlyse Dumel. Others came from Micucci’s stepdaughter, Nadya Byne, who worked at the Ottawa Hospital at the time and spent days at her bedside in the ICU, and from her daughter Daisy Micucci, who was just 16 when she answered a distressing phone call. of his mother. In the scene.

Micucci’s longtime friend Jason Lutes recalled how Micucci was scarred at a young age when his younger brother, Mario, died in a bicycle accident. Micucci was only 11 years old when Mario died.

“I thought that was what made him a cautious person,” Lutes told the court. “I used to think he was worried about hurting himself. Now, after losing him, I understand that it was much more than that. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized that Franco’s grief never ended. He understood that his life did not belong to him alone. He had to be careful because he was now his parents’ only son. When he was older he understood that his life also belonged to his wife and children.”

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On the night of the tragedy, there were no precautions in Bacquain. He was fleeing police in a Honda Civic, running north at high speed on Kirkwood Avenue when he swerved to go east on Richmond and struck Miccuci in the crosswalk. Bacquain continued north, his windshield shattered by the impact, before abandoning the Honda in a grocery store parking lot. She texted her mother and told her to report the car stolen (“now, now, now,” she urged) in an attempt to escape responsibility. He was arrested that night hiding in a backyard about a kilometer from the crash site.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit cleared police of any wrongdoing, finding that officers had called off the chase long before the deadly collision.

Deputy Crown attorney Hart Shouldice is seeking a six-year sentence for Miciccu’s death, which he attributed to “multiple criminal and reckless decisions,” and an additional 90-day sentence for an aggravated assault charge Bacqauin faces for an unrelated incident. Police also found 29 hydromorphone pills (a synthetic heroin) in Bacquain’s car and federal prosecutors are asking that a 12-month sentence for trafficking be served concurrently.

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Bacquain’s attorney, Joseph Addelman, is asking for a sentence of between 24 and 30 months, including 566 days credit for the more than a year Bacquain has already spent in custody. Addelman cited Bacquain’s mental health issues, substance abuse issues, and the bullying and racism he faces as a mixed-race person as mitigating factors.

Bacquain, dressed in a black shirt, sat quietly in the prisoners’ box, eyes downcast for much of his appearance, occasionally glancing toward Micucci’s family. He once wiped the tears from his eyes.

When the judge invited him to speak, he expressed his “deepest pain” to Micucci’s family.

“I know there is nothing that can be said or done to make things better, to turn back the clock, and there are no words to describe the guilt I will carry for the rest of my days,” he said.

“I would never ask or expect to be forgiven. … I will apologize for everything that happened and I wish nothing but peace and some kind of happiness for all of you.”

Dumel reserved his sentencing decision for a later date.

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