BY KEITH LACEY
Friends of Patrick Herard say he’s playing beautiful music up in
heaven.
Students at Ecole Secondaire Champlain were still reeling when
they returned to classes this week following the tragic death of
the popular 16-year-old guitar player and classmate Saturday
evening.
Grief counsellors were brought in by the French Catholic school
board to assist students.
Herard was struck while riding his bicycle by a speeding teenage
motorist. Greater Sudbury Police say the motorist was engaged in a
race —a problem residents of Chelmsford say is a long-standing
one.
Two teenagers have been charged in connection with Herard’s death.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit will determine if
actions taken by Greater Sudbury Police officers may have played a
role in the accident.
Police were following the two vehicles that passed them at a
high rate of speed in the moments before Herard was struck.
Students at Champlain built a wooden cross in Herard’s
memory and erected it on Errington St., near where his body
was found.
By 1 pm, dozens of tributes had been written by students in
black marker and pen. A copy of Guitar Player magazine lay beside
the cross, along with many flowers.
“You were the best big bad wolf ever,” said one tribute.
“A good guitarist, a better friend,” said another.
“We will never forget you and no one will replace you,” said
another.
Outside the school after classes Monday, many students wiped
away tears as they talked about the tragedy.
“Patrick was just a great guy...a very intelligent guy who I
don’t think ever said bad word about anyone,” said a friend who did
not want his name used. “He was a talented musician who was very
popular here at school.
“If any good comes out of Herard’s death, it will be that young
people driving fast cars will think twice before exceeding the
speed limit,” he said.
Herard moved to the area with his family last summer. His
father, Daniel, is an RCMP officer.
Denise Chenard, owner of Talk of the Town Fashions, located on
Errington St. not far from the accident site, said young people
driving cars way too fast has been a big problem in Chelmsford for
many years.
“I know when it’s lunchtime at the school, because you can hear
the cars screaming into this parking lot,” she said.
Her daughter attended Champlain for four years and “lost one
friend every year she was in high school because of car accidents
and most of them involved speeding,” she said. “It’s not like this
is the first time this kind of thing has happened in
Chelmsford.”
The SIU issued a release Monday stating two officers were
patrolling southbound on Errington in a marked cruiser. When the
officers saw two cars, a Chevrolet Cavalier and a Toyota Corolla,
travelling in the opposite direction at a high rate of speed, they
turned the cruiser around, and 1.5 kilometres later found the
driver of the Corolla had hit the cyclist.
What the SIU would not speculate on is whether or not the
officers were involved in a chase of the two cars.
Jason Daoust, 18, has been arrested in relation to Herard’s death.
Another person was also arrested but can’t be named under
provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Both have been
charged with criminal negligence causing death, dangerous driving
causing death and racing.
Herard is survived by his father, Daniel, mother Carole Lavigne-Herard, and his sister, Ann. The family will receive friends today at the Co-operative Funeral Home from 2 to 5 pm and from 7 to 9:30 pm and Thursday after 9 am. A mass of Christian burial will take place Thursday at 11 am in St. Joseph Church in Chelmsford.
