Widower of jogger killed on Parc Ave. calls for stiffer fines for 'reckless' drivers

The date isforever etched in AndrBenyamin's memory: Jan. 7, 2016.

"It was around 11:30 [a.m.].I got a call. It was the police. They said, 'Your wife was in an accident.'"

Benyamin had just persuaded his wife,62-year-oldConcepcin Cortacans, to go for a jog on Mount Royal. She was waiting to cross ParcAvenue just south of Duluth Street.

Once the light turned green for pedestrians, Cortacansjogged into the street, pastthe city bus stopped in the first lane.

Despite hisred light, a 44-year-old man drivingnorthbound in an SUV didn't stop. He slammed into Cortacans, sending her flying.

40 years together

Benyamin rushed to the Montreal General Hospital. Doctors told him his wife wasbrain dead, but for days, he held out hope.

"Sometimes when I was talking to her, and people were visiting her during the week, [her] tears were falling, and I could feel that she was understanding certain things," Benyamin recalls.

Six days later, Cortacans died.

Benyamin was devastated.

"The meaning of life becomes nothing," he said. "It was almost 40 years we were together. We did everything together. Sports, we travelled everywhere. We loved travelling, hiking, running."

Not criminally responsible

Police investigators ruled the driver's act was not criminal, despite his having run a red light. He was slapped with a $1,000fine fordangerous driving under Quebec's Highway Safety Code andgiven four demerit points.

Benyamin is outraged.

"As a victim, as a survivor of this event, I am really stepped on. How such a person can be easily let go and not to be penalized? It is a joke," he said.

Benyamin saidafter being treated for shock, the driver was allowed to drive home.

There's no sentence whether if it's a fine or jail that's going to atone for [the]loss of someone's life.- Criminal lawyer Eric Sutton

Benyamin wants stiffer fines for people he calls "reckless" drivers. He saidthe man who killed his wife should have his licence suspended for at least a year.

However, criminallawyer Eric Sutton saidthat's not how the system works.

"It's not the result that should determine the charge. It should really be the nature of the conduct. Is it misconduct that deserves a criminal charge or is it misconduct that really is only worthy of a ticket?" Sutton said.

"The victim will always feel aggrieved,if there's been a loss of life," he said.

"There's no sentence whether if it's a fine or jail that's going to atone for [the]loss of someone's life."

No possibility of suing driver

Even if he wanted to sue the driver for damages, Benyamin couldn't. Quebec's no-fault insurance policy protects driversfrom such lawsuits.

Andr Benyamin says financial compensation won't bring his wife back

8 years ago

Duration 0:35

Andr Benyamin says financial compensation won't bring his wife back

Quebec's automobile insurance board, the SAAQ, will compensate Benyamin for the loss of his wife anamount thatcould vary between$68,000 tomore than $350,000, depending on Cortacans's income and other factors.

For Benyamin, the moneydoesn't matter.

"I would give everything if only my wife was alive," he said."I don't give a damn about the financial or other things, as long as she was safe for me,it was more precious than anything else."