'I can't describe the emotions,' says partner of Montreal woman killed by a truck

The woman who was struck and killed by a truck in Pointe-aux-Trembles last week was a 37-year-old mother of three who was on her way to a much-awaited appointment to undergo therapy for her hips.

“She was arriving for her therapy and she didn’t want to go because her legs were really hurting her that day, but I convinced her to go,” Matthew Doré, the partner of Faye Moisan-Piquette, told the Montreal Gazette on Monday. “She had waited five years on a list (for the appointment) to have access to that kind of therapy. She had missed the last one because her legs were killing her and she is a little person.

“She was so tiny, but so strong. She impressed a lot of people with how she handled pain and the way she handled the kids.”

The therapy was to help her with cortisone shots she required in her hips every three months.

Because she had missed the previous appointment, Doré said, his wife was running the risk of losing out on access to the therapy altogether if she missed the one she was heading to. He began to cry over the phone as he described their last conversation, during which he encouraged her to go.

“If I had just said nothing …” Doré said as his voice tailed off.

On April 24, Moisan-Piquette was struck at the intersection of Sherbrooke and Robert-Chevalier Sts. She appeared to be arriving 20 minutes early for her 2 p.m. appointment and Doré assumes this was so she could smoke a cigarette beforehand.

Doré said he has spent the past week trying to find answers for what happened while also trying to plan her funeral.

He said that whenever they crossed a street with their two young children — a three-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son — she always insisted that they should have enough time to make it across safely. Moisan-Piquette also had a 15-year-old daughter through a previous relationship.

“I hope she didn’t suffer. I hope she didn’t have to think about me and the kids while she was suffering,” Doré said before describing how he learned of the tragedy.

He said he got home from work that afternoon and took a shower. He was surprised to see that she wasn’t home by the time he finished showering because their routine was to pick up their children at their daycare at 3:45 p.m.

When she didn’t show up, Doré said, he decided to get their kids on his own. While he walked there he passed by the intersection where the police were still investigating.

“I started to get really panicky. I had a real bad feeling. I saw the truck. I saw the cops,” he said, adding that while he looked at the crime scene he heard a voice that told him: “Pick up the kids.”

Doré said he held out hope that his wife was still at her appointment but continued to panic while trying his best to not let his children see that he was worried.

When he and the children arrived back home, he started to call family to see if they had any news. While making the calls, he noticed there was a message on his answering machine.

The message was from Moisan-Piquette’s therapist asking why she had failed to show up for the appointment.

“My heart stopped. I had the number, so I called the therapist,” Doré said. “When she answered, she recognized the number and she started crying.”

The therapist informed him that the Montreal police found her business card on Moisan-Piquette and informed her that she had been “in a really bad accident.”

He said he called 911 and, after answering a few questions, someone confirmed that a woman her age had been in an accident and that police officers would come by his home with more information.

“They told me that she had died. After that I can’t describe the emotions. The fear, the anger, everything all mixed up together,” he said, adding that informing Moisan-Piquette’s teenage daughter “was the worst part. That almost destroyed me.

“She was my partner. She helped me through thick and thin. She never gave up on anything. She was always positive. She dealt with a lot of pain in her life. Everything was just a little bit harder for her, but she never complained.”

Bruno Lachance, 61, was charged last week with criminal negligence causing death “by taking medication and driving a motor vehicle.” He is also charged with causing Moisan-Piquette’s death while operating a motor vehicle. On Friday, he was ordered to be released after Lachance agreed to deposit $250 as bond. He returns to court in July.

A fundraiser has been created on the gofundme website to help raise money for Moisan-Piquette’s family. The goal is to raise $25,000 “to help ease the financial burden that comes with such a devastating loss. Contributions collected will be used to help Faye’s family with funeral expenses, as well as support her children in the days and months to come.”

As of Monday afternoon, more than $2,000 had been raised.

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