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Quebec brothers die in traffic accident after tour in Afghanistan

Article online since July 23rd 2008, 0:00
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Quebec brothers die in traffic accident after tour in Afghanistan

Brothers Jonathan (left) and Eric Leduc, two Canadian soldiers who both recently returned from Afghanistan, are shown in a family handout photo supplied by their cousin Sebastien Lepine. The brothers were both killed Tuesday morning in a car accident near Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Sebastien Lepine

MONTREAL - Jonathan Leduc and his brother Eric both served in Afghanistan's perilous theatre of war as members of the Canadian Forces.

After returning from their separate tours of duty, they had been settling back into their lives in Canada, looking forward to the future. On Tuesday, however, the brothers were killed when their car crashed into a ditch near Quebec City, an accident that has jolted family members and shaken their hometown of Ste-Anne-de-la-Perade, Que.

"The family is deeply affected," their cousin, Sebastien Lepine, told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

"It's very tough to lose two people. Jonathan and Eric were two members of the Leduc family who were very present, very important for us, and their deaths are very tough for everybody."

The brothers leave behind their parents, Jeannot and Bertha, sister Melissa, 24, and their girlfriends.

Provincial police said their car careened off the road around 4 a.m. after its driver, Eric, lost control. Jonathan was ejected from the vehicle.

"Speed was a cause, that's for sure," said police spokesman Richard Gagne.

Gagne said police haven't determined if alcohol was a factor.

As of Wednesday, 15 people had been killed in accidents on provincial roads in the five days since the start of Quebec's official construction holiday period, Gagne added.

Eric, 25, was a member of the 12e Regiment blinde du Canada. He returned from Afghanistan in the spring following a seven-month tour.

Jonathan, 22, spent nine months as an infantryman in Afghanistan in 2006 with the Royal 22nd Regiment - also known as the Van Doos.

Lepine said the brothers were both working for the military at CFB Valcartier and had moved in together in the Quebec City borough of Ste-Foy-Sillery.

"They were very proud to help Afghans," he said of their time overseas.

"For sure, when they were in Afghanistan they experienced many things. They experienced fear, they experienced hope, they experienced many emotions."

Lepine, who spent much of his childhood with the Leducs, said Jonathan was planning to become a bodyguard and Eric had enrolled in English classes.

He said the Canadian Forces told the family the brothers have the right to military funeral services, which will be held on a yet-to-be determined date at Ste-Anne-de-la-Perade's church.

Meanwhile, the deaths have stunned citizens in the village of 2,400.

Ste-Anne-de-la-Perade, about 90 kilometres southwest of Quebec City, is known for its annual tommycod ice-fishing festival.

Mayor Gilles Devault said the Leduc boys grew up in a house on his street, not far from the banks of the Ste-Anne River, which meanders through town.

"They were gentlemen, both of them," Devault said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "Everyone knew Eric and Jonathan."

Devault also said he played hockey with the Leduc brothers, and their father, in a local garage league.

He said Eric and Jonathan both lined up as forwards and described them as talented, aggressive hockey players.

The mayor said he feels for their father, who has always been very close to his children.

"He was very proud when he talked about his three kids," Devault said.

He said the deadly risks the soldiers faced in Afghanistan constantly made their father uneasy.

"The two of them returned, safe and sound, with all their body parts, and then for such a terrible accident to end their lives, it's unimaginable," Devault said.

Meanwhile, friends offered condolences on a web page dedicated to the Leducs on the social-networking site Facebook.

"Ti-Jo, I will never forget all the hilarious moments we spent together," Pascale Gervais Carle wrote in one posting.

"Jo, Eric. . . We will never ever forget you. . . ."

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