The parents of a 29-year-old man who became a prisoner of his body after a devastating car accident, which finally got the better of him almost three years later, want justice to be done.

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“My son had his life stolen and in one of the worst ways possible. And we, we were robbed of our son. Our family has been living in a perpetual nightmare since that day, ”says sadly to Journal Céline Pelletier.

On the morning of August 18, 2019, his son Jeffrey Langlois, accompanied by two friends, was on his way to the family home in Armagh, Chaudière-Appalaches, where they planned to have lunch. The day before, they had attended the Grands Feux Loto-Québec, on the shores of Lévis.

It was at this time that their vehicle was involved in a violent head-on collision with another motorist on Monseigneur-Bourget Street, north of Highway 20.

"Broken everywhere"

Coma, severe head trauma, cerebral hemorrhages, fractures of the neck, jaw, legs and arm... The young man who was 26 at the time was the hardest hit.

“He was broken all over and he never really got over it. He has become a prisoner of his body,” breathes Ms. Pelletier, stifling a sob.

The driver of the second vehicle, Pierre Hoffman, who was alone on board, escaped with serious injuries that did not put his life in danger. Blood tests revealed that the motorist, now 50, had exceeded the blood alcohol limit allowed at the time of the tragedy.

Six counts

Six counts, including impaired driving causing harm, were therefore filed against him in February 2020, to which he pleaded not guilty.

The accused in this case is due back in court on June 1 for further proceedings.

For their part, although seriously injured, the two friends of Mr. Langlois recovered from their injuries... before a sad twist of fate took one of them in another car accident a year later, in Saint-Malachie.

A desire for justice

However, it is not impossible that other charges will be filed against Mr. Hoffman since Jeffrey Langlois died on May 24, at the CHSLD de Saint-Gervais.

Suffering from aphasia, dysphagia, cerebral amnesia and partial paralysis since the accident, he had refused to eat for several days.

"He was only a shadow of himself," laments his mother. He didn't want to eat or drink at all. He let himself go..."

Her husband, Martin Langlois, for his part, wants this tragedy to serve as an example to discourage other drivers from driving while intoxicated. "We don't want revenge, we just want justice for our son."

“We wonder every day since the accident how we are going to make it through. What clings to our lives are our other children. »

– Céline Pelletier, mother of Jeffrey Langlois

“What Jeffrey went through, his suffering, we do not wish it on our worst enemy. »

– Martin Langlois, father of Jeffrey