Experts: Canada driver who stopped for ducks unlikely to get life term

A Canadian woman has been found guilty of causing a fatal traffic accident when she stopped to aid ducklings on a highway. She faces a possible life sentence, but legal experts say such a sentence is unlikely.

Emma Czornobaj, 25, stopped her vehicle four years ago on a Montreal-area highway to help ducklings stranded on the roadside. A motorcyclist and passenger hit Czornobaj’s car and were killed, according to the Associated Press.

A jury on Friday convicted Czornobaj on two counts of criminal negligence causing death, which could carry a life sentence, as well as two counts of dangerous driving, in connection with the deaths of the 50-year-old motorcyclist and his 16-year-old daughter.

Czornobaj probably will not receive a life sentence, legal experts said.

“It’s exceedingly rare that a charge of criminal negligence would result in a life sentence,” said Benjamin Berger, a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

But, Berger said, the fact that prosecutors charged Czornobaj with criminal negligence indicates that they believed her actions were dangerous enough to warrant significant penalties.

“It signals to us that the government viewed this as a particularly serious example of dangerous driving,” he said.

Berger also said the decision to try the case before a jury shows that prosecutors wanted the community to weigh in on the charges, as jury trials are relatively rare in Canada.

The province of Quebec, where the trial was held, has a high number of criminal prosecutions for traffic accidents because the province’s “no fault” insurance system prohibits civil lawsuits over injury accidents, according to Isabel Schurman, the vice chairwoman of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers. Schurman agreed Czornobaj is unlikely to receive the maximum penalty.

Contact Matt at matt.hansen2@latimes.com or Twitter: @mtthnsn