The driver who fatally struck a young Ukrainian refugee in Montreal in 2022 pleaded guilty Thursday to hit and run causing death.
Mariia Legenkovska was killed while walking to class with her brother and sister on Dec. 13, 2022. The seven-year-old was hit by a car in a school zone just east of downtown Montreal, but the motorist fled the scene.
Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia turned himself in to police later that day. He was charged with one count of failing to stop after an accident resulting in death, but released with conditions.
Both the Crown prosecutor and Becerra Garcia’s lawyer are seeking a 12-month sentence to be served in the community. The judge in the case will rule on sentencing next month.
Mariia had recently arrived in Canada when she was killed. Her family fled their war-torn country of Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
Her father was fighting for Ukraine’s territorial defence forces when she was killed. He travelled to Montreal from the front lines to bury his daughter.
Her death sent shockwaves through the province, prompting protests and calls for safer roads and school zones. Montreal’s Ville-Marie borough, where Mariia died, implemented a swath of traffic-calming measures a few months later.
— with files from Global’s Tim Sargeant and The Canadian Press
