Crown attorneys in Newfoundland and Labrador say they will appeal a recent decision that led to an acquittal for a man who had been charged with impaired driving causing the death of a husband and wife and serious injuries to two others in a collision near Gander in July of 2017.
In a news release Wednesday, Lloyd M. Strickland, the province’s Director of Public Prosecutions, said experienced crown attorneys with the Special Prosecutions Office who regularly review court rulings in consideration of potential appeals have identified what they see as legal errors in rulings that led to last week’s acquittal of Nicholas Villeneuve.
Villeneuve, 22, had faced eight charges related to an early-morning crash July 9, 2019 west of Gander, one that claimed the lives of Sandra and Josh Lush of Lewisporte and left the Lush’s daughter, Suzanne, with serious injuries and her boyfriend, Josh Whiteway, paralyzed.
The presiding judge ruled Villeneuve’s rights had been violated, making key prosecution evidence — including a blood sample taken from Villeneuve after the head-on collision between his pickup and the Lush’s SUV — inadmissable.
