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MONTREAL — A Superior Court judge is expected to decide later this year whether Emma Czornobaj should serve time behind bars for causing a fatal collision when she stopped her car on a highway in an attempt to rescue a group of ducklings.

The 26-year-old woman’s defence lawyer, Marc Labelle, told Justice Eliane Perreault that the case before her is “unique and not just rare” and that judge will likely never see one like it again in her career.

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The decision you have to render involves 28 seconds in the life of Emma Czornobaj,” Mr. Labelle said while acknowledging what his client did “was stupid” but involved no ill will whatsoever.

The collision occurred the evening of June 27, 2010, on the westbound section of Highway 30 in Candiac, a suburb of Montreal. Ms. Czornobaj was driving a Honda Civic and was heading home after having taken care of a pet for her boss at the time. She stopped in the left-hand line of the highway, got out and tried to rescue about seven ducklings that were on a very narrow left-hand shoulder.