Canadian woman jailed after stopping car for ducks and causing two deaths

Emma Czornobaj, 25, was also given 240 hours community service and a 10-year driving ban

Emma Czornobaj, 25, was also given 240 hours community service and a 10-year driving ban (AP)

A woman in Canada has been jailed for 90 days for causing the deaths of two people when she stopped her car on the side of highway to help a group of ducks cross the road.

Emma Czornobaj, 25, was also given 240 hours community service and a 10-year driving ban as she heard her sentence in Quebec’s Superior Court in Montreal on Thursday.

Earlier this year, Czornobaj was convicted on two counts of criminal negligence and two counts of dangerous driving after causing the deaths of Andre Roy, 50, and his 16 –year-old daughter Jessie.

Roy and his daughter Jessie were riding behind Czornobaj but were unable to brake in time and collided with the stationary vehicle.

Both died shortly afterwards.

The prosecution was asking for a nine-month prison sentence, 240 hours community service and a five-year driving ban.

The defence argued that as this was Czornobaj's first offence, there was no “criminal intent” and 240 hours community service was enough.

She will now serve her 90 days imprisonment intermittently over weekends.

According to the wife and mother of the two victims, she was pleased with the sentence handed out and said that the family could finally move on.

She said: “This will help us go on with our lives with a positive attitude, rather than a negative attitude.”