Presentation of evidence to begin Friday in Amqui truck attack trial
Posted May 16, 2025 7:43 am.
Last Updated May 16, 2025 7:44 am.
Evidence is scheduled to begin Friday in the trial of Steeve Gagnon, the man accused of striking pedestrians with his pickup truck in downtown Amqui in March 2023.
On Thursday, the 40-year-old’s trial began with jury selection.
It took only half a day to select 14 people, 12 of whom were to be the jury itself and the other two to be alternates. However, one of the 14 chosen was removed, so the process will have to be completed Friday morning.
Judge Louis Dionne will then deliver his address to the jury, and the evidence can begin.
The trial is scheduled to last eight weeks in Rimouski. The prosecutor in the case, Simon Blanchette, intends to call approximately fifty witnesses.
Gagnon faces five charges, including three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder by motor vehicle.
On the day of the incident, nine people were injured, but the prosecution decided to consolidate the nine individual attempted murders into two charges targeting groups of victims.
Gérald Charest, 65, Jean Lafrenière, 73, and Simon-Guillaume Bourget, 41, lost their lives in this tragedy that rocked the small municipality of 6,300 people on March 13, 2023.
Gagnon is being defended by Hugo Caissy, a lawyer with legal aid.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
