19-year-old Cody LeCompte has been stuck in Cuba since April while he
awaits trail.
The Canadian Press
Date: Tuesday Jul. 6, 2010 6:50 AM ET
TORONTO — An Ontario teen held in Cuba for nearly two months will wait
at least one more to be tried for a traffic accident he was in while on
a family vacation.
Cody LeCompte, 19, has lived at a seaside resort since early May, when
he was stopped at the airport and told he was not allowed to leave the
country.
Now his Cuban lawyer says it will take at least another month, possibly
two, for Cody to face a trial that will determine whether or not the
Simcoe, Ont., native faces any charges.
If he is eventually convicted, however, Cody could face time in a Cuban
prison.
"I don't know how to explain it," said Cody, when reached by phone
Monday at the Gran Club in Santa Lucia.
"It's just crazy," he said. "I should have been home so long ago."
The ordeal has cost Cody's mother, Danette LeCompte, more than $12,000
so far.
"It's overwhelming," she says. "I just want to sit and cry."
When her husband, Rob, died of a heart attack three years ago, Danette
was left to care for their only son alone.
After three tough years, the trip to Cuba was a gift to Cody for being
accepted into the aviation program at Sault College, in Sault Ste.
Marie, Ont.
It was supposed to be "one last vacation with his mom," she said.
Three days into their vacation, Cody and Danette went for a day trip to
a nearby village with her cousin and his Cuban fiancee.
As they passed through an intersection, a white dump truck slammed into
the passenger's side of the car. The car spun around and was struck
again on the driver's side where Cody sat, Danette says.
A large crowd gathered around the wreck as Cody slipped in and out of
consciousness.
"I thought I was going to lose him," Danette says, recalling how she
held her son while two women drove them to a nearby hospital.
Police did not show up at the crash site, but came to the hospital to
question them.
Everyone in the car suffered internal bruising, but was eventually
released from hospital. Cody's hand was cut badly. The cousin's fiancee
was severely injured and needed an operation to remove part of her liver.
The driver of the dump truck was not injured.
Danette was later told that drivers must be 21 to rent a car, but the
rental agency allowed Cody to drive even though his licence showed him
to be 19.
A few days later Danette and Cody tried to catch a flight home. She
passed through security first, but Cody was told he couldn't leave.
Danette panicked as she tried to get back to her son, who sent her a
text message: "Come back."
"I'm trying," she typed frantically. It took more than 30 minutes for
airport officials to allow her back.
"I still have a big knot in my stomach," she said from her home in Simcoe.
Danette remained with her son for a couple of weeks before returning to
Canada for work and to get legal counsel. It took at least three weeks
for a Foreign Affairs official to respond to her request for help, she says.
Dana Cryderman, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Department, was
unable to comment on the case because she is restricted by the Privacy Act.
"Canadian consular officials are following the case very closely with
Cuban authorities," she said.
Cryderman noted the department's travel advisory for Cuba warns against
driving in the country.
The advisory says accidents are a frequent cause of arrest and detention
of Canadians in Cuba, and accidents resulting in death or injury are
treated as crimes. The onus is on the driver to prove innocence.
Danette's cousin is staying at the resort with Cody and the fiancee, who
has recovered from her surgery, often visits.
Sunwing, the travel company the LeComptes booked their trip with, says
it has stayed in contact with the family since the accident occurred.
In a statement, the company maintained that Cuba is a safe destination
for Canadians, and that traffic accidents involving tourists are rare.
However, they noted that in Cuba it is "standard practice to complete a
thorough investigation, as they've done in this case."
On top of legal fees, Danette has had to pay for the room at the resort
where Cody has been staying. She plans to return to Cuba next week with
some required documents for their Cuban lawyer.
"My credit cards are maxed, my whole life's been turned upside down,"
she says. "But all I care about is getting my son home.""
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20100706/teen-trial-cuba-100706/
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