GUELPH – It’s been 16 months since Dave Genereaux died in a two-vehicle crash in December of 2023.
The other driver in the crash, Micheal Shular, pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death during a trial at the Ontario Court of Justice in Guelph on April 28.
The collision took place on Highway 6 between Fergus and Guelph, south of 8th Line and Wellington Road 22, at about 10:30am on Dec. 29, 2023.
Genereaux was driving south when a northbound black Dodge Ram pickup truck, driven by Shular, crashed into his beige Ford SUV.
Genereaux, who was 40 years old and father to a newborn, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shular, 30, of Tara (near Owen Sound), was transported to Guelph General Hospital with minor injuries.
They were the only occupants in the vehicles.
On Jan. 11, 2024, police announced that Shular was charged with impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death, obstructing a peace officer by providing false information, possession of a Schedule 1 substance (fentanyl) and two counts of driving while suspended.
Shular has pleaded guilty to just the first of the above charges.
Family man
Genereaux’s death came just two months after the birth of his first child, Jason.
Jason is now 18 months old, and his mom, Sabrina Genereaux, says he’s “growing like a little weed.”
He’s a happy, healthy toddler figuring out how to navigate the world, she said. He’s learned to climb the stairs, open all the doors in the house and enjoys climbing up on his “independence stool” in the kitchen to watch his mom and grandparents make coffee or cook dinner.
“He’s got the best little smile,” Sabrina said.
And he recognizes his “Dada,” often kissing the photo of Dave that Sabrina has saved as the background on her phone.
Sabrina said she often tells Jason stories about his dad, and “as he gets older I will tell him anything he wants to know.
“I tell him all the time, he’s like his dad. I want him to know everything about his dad,” Sabrina said, and she has put photo albums together, ready for him.
A lot has changed in Sabrina’s life since Dave’s death, and she described it as a “roller coaster of emotion,” with lots of firsts and learning curves.
“I’m learning how to be a mom while dealing with everything,” she said.
Sabrina Genereaux and her son, Jason. Photo by Robin George
She added she’s become more of a homebody and described her life as “more of pushing through than actually living.”
Without Dave’s income, she couldn’t afford to keep their apartment in Fergus so she moved in with her parents, Sante and Gloria Dona, in Elora.
“He always paid rent and I did the rest,” Sabrina said.
For now she’s living in her parents’ home, but the next step will be building a little house in the backyard for Sabrina and Jason to have more independence – “still close enough, but separate,” she said.
“It’s nice living here,” Sabrina said, and having her parents’ support has made things much easier.
Jason’s cat K9 is doing well – the orange tabby lounged comfortably on a cat tower while Sabrina spoke tearfully about her late husband.
But Jason’s other cat, Firefly, had to be put down last July, Sabrina said.
Court
In the days leading up to court Sabrina said she was so anxious she could hardly sleep, eat or even drink coffee.
She told the Advertiser she has mixed emotions about Shular’s guilty plea – especially as he only pleaded guilty to one charge.
“I’m glad he owned up to it,” she said, though she worries he did so just to get a lesser sentence, not because he feels remorseful.
“He wouldn’t lift his head up” while people read impact statements in court, she said.
“He just stared at his shoes the whole time.”
It was hard for Sabrina to be in the same room as Shular, she said.
A lot of people attended court to support her, she noted, including her and Dave’s friends and family, members of Dave’s paintball team and Sabrina’s baseball team, and some of Dave’s coworkers.
About 10 people gave impact statements, she said, including herself, and a few friends and family members.
“I went first,” Sabrina said. “It was super hard – I cried the whole time.”
Her statement was about how they first met, what they enjoyed doing together, and how they tried for a long time to start their family, finally getting pregnant with Jason in 2023.
Sabrina said her best friend Alicia Curry’s statement was directed at Shular and described how he “sentenced me and my son to life without Dave. She was very angry,” Sabrina said.
Dave’s aunt talked about what Dave was like as a little kid, and how he was so excited to become a dad, always calling and texting her with updates.
Dave’s best friend, who knew him for 31 years, shared childhood memories, and another friend talked about playing paintball with Dave and always chatting with him at Jaylor, where Dave worked as a welder.
Someone Sabrina plays baseball with talked about how Dave’s death impacted the whole team.
“My dad was short and to the point about how Dave was such a good guy,” Sabrina said.
She noted it was hard, but nice, to listen to people share their memories of Dave.
And now that it is over, she feels a bit of a weight has been lifted, though she still feels heavy knowing she’ll have to go back for Shular’s sentencing, which is scheduled for June.
“No matter what he gets, it’s not going to be enough,” Sabrina said. She added the Crown lawyer is expecting him to get seven to nine years in jail, followed by a 10-year driving ban.
The driving ban seems pretty pointless to Sabrina, as he was driving with a suspended licence the day Dave died.
