Chatham-Kent police cruiser (Photo courtesy of Chatham-Kent Police Service.)Chatham-Kent police cruiser (Photo courtesy of Chatham-Kent Police Service.)
Chatham

Accused in crash that killed young girl set to enter plea in new year

A Chatham man is scheduled to enter a plea in January in connection to a fatal crash in Pain Court last year that claimed the life of a child.

Ben Leveille, 34, was charged with impaired driving causing death, criminal negligence causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and two counts of driving while under suspension after a single vehicle crash on Jacob Road near Given Line on July 27, 2020.

Investigators said a man was driving with his girlfriend’s three children in the vehicle when he lost control of it, left the road and flipped it upside down in a water-filled ditch. Police said the man was able to save two of the three children but couldn't save the third. Volunteer firefighters had to later remove the child from the water.

All three children were transported to the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance for medical attention, but a 7-year-old girl was later pronounced dead in Chatham. A 4-year-old girl was airlifted to a hospital in London while an 11-year-old boy was transported by land ambulance to a London hospital. They both survived.

Leveille will be in Chatham court on January 18, 2022 to enter a plea.

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