The Quebecer involved in a fatal accident near Málaga this summer could have spent Christmas and New Year’s Day with his family, but he is still stuck in Spain due to a judge’s vacation.
• Also read: Involved in a fatal accident: leaving for 10 days of vacation, a Quebecer has been stuck in Spain for four months
However, on December 20, Mathieu Béland thought he would get his passport back, since the victim’s family had received compensation from the insurance company in the preceding days.
All that remained was the judge’s authorization on file for the L’Ancienne-Lorette resident to return home after more than five months in Spain.
“All the conditions are met, but this judge went on vacation last week for the holidays, so it’s impossible to have my passport before mid-January,” explains the 27-year-old man.
Scenarios
Mathieu Béland entrusts Journal that he really believed that this time was the right one and that he was going to be able to hug his girlfriend at Christmas for the first time since her visit in August.
“Yes, it’s certain that you create scenarios in your head […] My girlfriend, she’s strong,” he said before a long sigh.
Photo taken from FACEBOOK, ESTELLE SIMARD
Despite everything, the native of Rivière-du-Loup maintains his morale in the face of this ordeal which has changed his vision of life.
“I said to my grandfather at Christmas: ‘We think we have problems in life, but we are not aware of the extent to which it is not really a problem.’ As long as I have health, I want to stay positive,” he says.
Fees of $42,000
The legal fees to represent him in court amount to $42,000 in Canadian currency. And the procedures are not over.
Mr. Béland claims to have a very competent law firm, without which he would have “probably been sent to prison for two years.”
The fundraiser organized by his family on the GoFundMe platform has raised more than $30,000 so far.
“People are really generous. I also received a lot of messages of encouragement from people I didn’t know,” he reveals.
Photo AUDREY BELAND
Reminder of the facts
On July 16, Mathieu Béland’s life changed.
While he was going to join his sister Audrey on the Costa del Sol, he caused a collision with a rented car which cost the life of a 58-year-old motorcyclist.
After a night and a day in a cell, he was finally able to regain his freedom on bail of CA$75,000.
The civil suit against the Quebecer has now been settled since the compensation was paid.
The criminal charge is maintained, but the lawyers are hopeful that the case will be resolved in January since the tests confirmed from the start that alcohol and drugs were not involved.
Do you have any information to share with us about this story?
Write to us at or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.
