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Canadian driver who stopped for ducklings gets jail

A 26-year-old woman caused a fatal crash after she stopped on a busy highway rescue a duck family was sentenced to 90 days in prison.

By Amy R. Connolly
A Canadian woman will serve 90 days in prison after she stopped her car on a busy highway to rescue a duck family. Two motorcyclists died when they slammed into the woman's car. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
A Canadian woman will serve 90 days in prison after she stopped her car on a busy highway to rescue a duck family. Two motorcyclists died when they slammed into the woman's car. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

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MONTREAL, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A 26-year-old woman who caused a fatal crash after she abruptly stopped her car in the middle of a highway to help a stranded duck family was sentenced to 90 days in prison.

Emma Czornobaj must also serve 240 hours of community service and was banned from driving for 10 years. The prison sentence will only be served on the weekends.

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Czornobaj was traveling on Highway 30 outside of Montreal in June 2010 when she spotted seven ducklings on the road. She abruptly stopped her Honda Civic in the left lane of the busy roadway to make sure the ducks were safe. Motorcyclist Andre Roy, 50 and daughter Jessie, 16, slammed into the back of Czornobaj's car and were killed.

During her trial, Czornobaj said she wanted to rescue the ducks. She was convicted on two counts of criminal negligence and had faced possible life in prison.

Czornobaj's conviction drew the ire of animal lovers who decried the possibility of a life sentence. More than 19,000 people signed a petition on Change.org for leniency.

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