Trial begins for Quebec man in fatal 2023 Amqui truck attack
Posted May 15, 2025 7:54 am.
Last Updated May 15, 2025 3:33 pm.
The trial of Steeve Gagnon, accused of striking down a dozen pedestrians with his pickup truck in Amqui in March 2023, began on Thursday in Rimouski, with the selection of the jury.
It took only half a day to choose 14 people, 12 of whom were to be the jury itself and the other two alternates. However, one of the 14 people chosen was eliminated, so the procedure will not be completed until Friday morning.
Gagnon, 40, faces five charges, including three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder by use of a motor vehicle. The prosecution decided to group the nine individual attempted murders into two charges involving groups of victims.
Gérald Charest, aged 65, Jean Lafrenière, aged 73, and Simon-Guillaume Bourget, aged 41, lost their lives in the tragedy that shook the small municipality of 6,300 residents on March 13, 2023.
Heavy toll
According to police reports at the time, emergency services were called around 3 p.m. to Route 132 in Amqui, where several people were seriously injured.
In addition to the three men who lost their lives, nine other people were seriously injured that day.
Gagnon turned himself in to the police after the tragic events. He is being defended legal aid lawyer Hugo Caissy, while Simon Blanchette is representing the Crown in the case.
Blanchette has indicated that he intends to call some 50 witnesses during the trial, which is scheduled to last eight weeks.
The charges of premeditated murder could mean life in prison for Gagnon, with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
The trial is taking place in Rimouski.
Once the jury has been seated, Judge Louis Dionne will deliver his address to the jury, and evidence should begin to be heard Friday.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
