Man who hit camper had no other reason to be on highway: lawyer

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The prosecutor in the trial of Jano Vincent, the man accused of murdering another driver on Highway 50 in a failed suicide attempt, asked the jury hearing the case in St-Jérôme to focus their deliberations on the aftermath of the fatal crash.

Vincent has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Robert Campion, 59. The victim was killed Oct. 6, 2019, as he returned from a camping trip. He was driving a Sunseeker camper by himself, heading east toward Mirabel on Highway 50, when he was struck by Vincent’s Ford F-150 as the truck crossed into the opposite lane.

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“There is absolutely nothing in the evidence to suggest that this was an accident,” prosecutor Steve Baribeau told jurors Thursday, the second day of his closing arguments in a trial that began June 3. “Mr. Campion had no chance. He had no time to react.”

The collision occurred at kilometer 233 of the motorway in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge. Campion died in the collision, while Vincent suffered injuries that left him in a coma. It took firefighters more than two hours to extricate him from the badly damaged pickup.

“If you believe the defendant intentionally drove his vehicle into Mr. Campion’s house, you can infer that he foresaw the death of the other driver,” Baribeau said.

Baribeau argued that Vincent chose Highway 50 to commit suicide in a high-speed collision, and evidence presented at trial showed he had no reason to be on the road with a 62 mph speed limit.

The prosecutor said the evidence the jury heard about the force of the collision showed intent behind the alleged killing.

At least two people who testified for the prosecution, including one who was more than 200 yards from the crash scene, said the sound of the impact sounded like a bomb exploding.

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One of the firefighters called to the scene testified that what he remembers most after more than 200 incidents was that Vincent miraculously survived.

Another prosecution witness recalled that she checked to see if Campion was alive but immediately noticed blood coming from his ears. Baribeau reminded the jury that the woman testified that she held Campion’s hand and told someone at the scene that she “didn’t want him to die alone.”

When Vincent testified in his defense, he denied trying to kill himself and said he was reaching for something that had fallen onto his truck when it swerved. His defense attorney argued Tuesday that the collision was an accident.

Vincent said he didn’t notice the sound his pickup’s tires made as he changed lanes and crossed the center line of the seat belts, which are designed to warn drivers that they are crossing into the opposite lane.

A witness who testified for the Crown said he heard a vibrating sound coming from the vehicle he was in just before the collision. Baribeau also played a video recording, recorded by a Sûreté du Québec accident investigator, that recreated the sound a heavy vehicle, such as a Ford F-150, would make as it crossed into the opposite lane. The sound was very audible on the recording.

“How could he not hear the sound of the vibration?” Baribeau asked.

The prosecutor also told the jury they could choose two different paths to find Vincent guilty of second-degree murder. The choice is whether Vincent had the “direct or indirect intent” to kill another person.

“You don’t even have to agree on which path to take to get there. The important thing is that you get to the same destination,” Baribeau said.

To explain indirect intent, he gave the example of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

“If their goal was to cause damage to the aircraft, then it was certain that there would be fatalities,” Baribeau said. “It was certain, almost certain that there would be fatalities.”

Supreme Court Justice Mario Longpré informed the jury that deliberations would begin Tuesday.

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