Nunavik man dies in car-surf stunt

Here’s the busy Montreal intersection, as shown in a CTV news broadcast, where an alleged car-surfing stunt led to the death of a Nunavik man. An Inukjuak man faces charges in connection with the incident, which took place in the early morning hours of June 29. The victim, Kevin Ducharme, 38, died July 5. (WEB IMAGE HARVESTED FROM CTV.CA)

A 33-year old man from Inukjuak faces serious charges in connection with a June 29 motor vehicle incident in a Montreal suburb that led to the July 5 death of another Nunavik man.

The incident involved car surfing, a dangerous stunt that involves riding outside of a moving vehicle.

Tommy Colin Palliser (Moorhouse) appeared in a Montreal court June 30, where he was charged with failure to stop at the scene of an accident, dangerous driving, and causing bodily harm by criminal negligence, an offense that can lead to a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. If the charges are upgraded due to the death of the alleged car-surfer, Palliser may face a life sentence in jail.

Kevin Ducharme, 38, the man injured in the accident and a relative of Palliser’s wife and others in Nunavik, was initially hospitalized in a medically-induced coma designed to help his recovery. He died July 5 after being taken off life support.

Montreal police say Ducharme was standing on the roof of his 2006 Jeep Commander at about 3:30 a.m. June 29 after it stopped at a red traffic light at the corner of St. Jean Blvd. and Ernest St. in the Montreal West Island suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux.

When the traffic light turned green, the driver drove forward, causing the man to fall off the Jeep’s roof on to his head.

The vehicle then left the scene.

Witnesses driving in a car stopped next to the Jeep at the traffic light, saw the incident, and called 911.

Police only identified Ducharme later that day after his family had contacted police because he never came home.

Police have suggested that the incident resulting in Ducharme’s injuries involved car surfing — the first recorded instance of car surfing in Montreal to date.

People typically car surf on an SUV or truck because of their greater height and flatter roofs.

Recent films like Teen Wolf and Grindhouse have popularized car surfing, which caused injuries to 99 people in the United States from 1990 to 2008, according to report on injuries resulting from car surfing by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than half of the car surfers, predominately young males, died, the report says.

The report’s authors found that injuries and deaths occurred in cases where vehicles were traveling at different speeds, from as slow as five mph to as fast as 120 km/h.

They noted that car surfing videos posted on video-sharing websites like YouTube have popularized car surfing.

But these home-made videos, shot with digital cameras or cell phones, usually don’t show the risks for injury or death from car surfing, they said.

So car surfers might underestimate the risks involved and might not anticipate that sudden movements can throw them off vehicle, even at very low speeds.

And they might not realize that car surfing can lead to serious legal charges both against the car surfer and the driver.

“I believe it was a stupid accident,” his lawyer Gérald LaHaye told reporters at the Montreal courthouse after Palliser’s first appearance.

LaHaye said his client Palliser was “not feeling very well.”

“He’s obviously affected by the results of what happened that day. It’s his wife’s cousin and he’s seriously hurt,” LaHaye said.

Palliser was behind the wheel of the vehicle at the time but was unaware Ducharme had fallen off, he said.

Palliser was held in detention after his first Montreal court appearance, LaHaye told Nunatsiaq News.

Palliser appeared again in court on July 2, where he was granted bail. His release includes conditions to keep the peace and make deposit $500.

La Haye said July 6 that he had not been advised yet on whether the charges will be changed because Ducharme died.

Palliser returned to Inukjuak shortly after his bail hearing.

His next court date is Sept. 26 in Montreal.

Palliser, a university-educated senior business services advisor with the Kativik Regional Government, is also a director and secretary-treasurer of the local landholding corporation, a director and treasurer of Inukjuak’s Unaaq men’s group.

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