The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal by a Newfoundland man accused of killing two people and seriously injuring two others while driving drunk.
The country’s highest court released its decision late this morning.
Twenty-six-year-old Nicholas Villeneuve was arrested following the fiery, head-on collision near Gander in 2019.
Husband and wife John and Sandra Lush both died at the scene, while their daughter, Suzanne, and her boyfriend, Josh Whiteway suffered serious, life-changing injuries.
Villeneuve was charged with eight counts including impaired driving causing death and bodily harm.
But he was acquitted after the judge ruled his rights, including access to a lawyer, were violated by the arresting officer who accompanied the injured Villeneuve from the scene to the hospital.
The Crown challenged that in this province’s Court of Appeal, which ruled the trial judge was wrong to acquit Villeneuve, and ordered a new trial.
That led his lawyers to the court of last resort in Ottawa, which today issued the thumbs-down.
That now paves the way for a new trial in the case.
The Supreme Court of Canada receives hundreds of such leave applications each year but only hears a small percentage of them, based on the importance of the case to the public and the law.