 A makeshift memorial for 17-year-old Alex Hayes, who was struck down by a hit-and-run driver who was allegedly intoxicated at the time, hangs in the window of MacKinnon's Foodland, the Greely grocery store where he worked. (Aedan Helmer, QMI Agency)
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OTTAWA - The woman accused of mowing down a teenager and leaving him to die by the side of the road may have had an opportunity to save the boy's life.
Samira Daoud, 40, was arrested within a few kilometres of the fatal hit-and-run crash site on the same rural stretch of Bank St. where 17-year-old Alex Hayes had been struck minutes earlier as he rode his bike home from work.
Police said the intoxicated woman, who police say was driving a stolen car showing visible front-end damage and with a suspended license following prior DUI arrests, never revealed to the patrol officer that she may have struck the boy, whose body was discovered more than three hours later.
"That will certainly be a focal point of the investigation and of the trial," said Const. Katherine Larouche.
Investigators won't know if Hayes died upon impact until an autopsy is completed but paramedic superintendent Andre Gignac said "If (Hayes) was still alive and suffering major injuries, three hours is a long time."
Hayes finished his shift at MacKinnon's Foodland, a grocery store approximately one kilometre south of the crash site, punched his time card at 9:02 p.m. and headed home, a short distance away in the village of Greely.
When he didn't return home, his family called police, who launched a missing persons investigation at 11:30 p.m.
His body, along with the twisted wreckage of his bicycle, was found shortly after midnight along the side of the road.
Daoud is charged with 11 offences, including criminal negligence causing death, impaired driving, failing to stop at the scene, possessing a stolen car, driving with a suspended license and breach of probation.
She was also charged with mischief after damaging a cell block following her arrest.
Daoud has a criminal history, receiving a 30-month driving ban in 2006 after pleading guilty to drunk driving, and was handed a two year probation sentence in 2008 for abandoning a child, according to court documents.
She is a scheduled to appear in court Saturday.
Employees at MacKinnon's Foodland were visibly shaken Friday morning at the news that Hayes, a grocery clerk at the store, was the victim of a tragic encounter with the alleged drunk driver.
"It's completely shocking," said manager Amanda Lowe. "He was a lot of fun to work with. He was hilarious, easygoing. He was friends with everyone here."
Candice Gilby, a cashier who worked alongside Hayes, was also schoolmates with Hayes at Ottawa Technical Learning Centre.
"He had a lot of friends," she said. "A lot of people are crying right now."
Hayes was hired as a clerk after approaching store manager Kit MacKinnon six months ago looking for a co-op placement.
"He came in with his mom and he was just so personable. I shook his hand and told him, sure I'll take you on as a co-op student but I'm also going to hire you," she said.
MacKinnon said she learned the tragic news from Hayes' mother, who works at the LCBO outlet attached to the grocery store.
aedan.helmer@sunmedia.ca
-files from Megan Gillis
