Quebec man found guilty after manoeuvre to avoid ducks leads to death of motorcyclist

After two days of deliberations, a juryconvicted a Quebec man on Thursday ofdangerous driving causing death for his decision to stop and moveinto an oncoming lane to avoid ducks onthe road.

In July 2019, ric Rondeau was pulling a trailer behind his F-150 pickup truckon Route 345in the Lanaudire region when he spottedthe ducks.

He hit the brakes and flipped on his hazardsbut, concerned about beinghit from behind, he moved his pickup into the oncoming lane, he told the court in Joliette, Que., last week.

A 19-year-old motorcyclist, Flix-Antoine Gagn, came around the bend and collided with Rondeau's truck head-on. The young man died at the scene.

Rondeau, 47, had testified that he was nervous about parking his F-150 just before a curve in the road and was looking in his rear-view mirror when he drifted into the oncoming lane.

He said he wasn't even aware he was in the wrong lane, being so concentratedon his rear-view mirror.

He spoke of his pain after the collisionand, as a father himself,expressed compassion for the victim's parents.

His lawyer, Richard Dub, said Rondeau "obviously experiences this in a very, very difficult way. Imagine three years of living with the death of this young man. It's heavy."

Sentencing is slated for Feb.17.Rondeau remains free pending his sentence.

This is not the first time ducks in the road haveled to tragedy in Quebec. Back in 2014, aQuebec Superior Court judge sentenced Emma Czornobaj to 90 days in jail for causing two deaths after stopping on the highway to rescue ducklings.

Czornobaj, from the Montreal suburb of Chteauguay, wasalso prohibited from driving for 10 years and ordered to perform 240 hours of community service.