by Andrew Seymour
The Ottawa Citizen
A 40-year old woman accused of driving drunk in a stolen vehicle during a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a teen cyclist is now facing an additional charge of manslaughter.
Samira Mohamed Daoud was originally charged with criminal negligence causing death, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, drunk driving and possession of a stolen vehicle after 16-year-old Alex Hayes was killed while riding his bicycle on a rural stretch of Bank Street on Sept. 9. Daoud, who wore a green sweatshirt and leaned impassively against a wall at the Ottawa detention centre, appeared in court by video link as her next court date was set for Oct. 25.
While no explanation for the upgraded charge was given in court, assistant Crown attorney Julie Scott said outside of court it was “appropriate” given the alleged circumstances surrounding the fatal collision, which occurred as Hayes rode his bike home from his job at the MacKinnon’s Foodland store in Greely.
But Daoud’s lawyer, Bob Carew, accused prosecutors of over-charging his client by laying a charge rarely used in connection with driving deaths.
“I think it shows a lack of confidence in being able to convict on what’s there,” said Carew. “They lay so many charges for the same thing hoping it will stick.”
Manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, is a culpable but unintentional homicide where someone dies by means of an unlawful act of criminal negligence.