SAGUENAY, QUE.—Last week, he was hailed as the Good Samaritan who saved a woman’s life in a memorable moment of quick thinking.
Since then he’s been arrested three times and is now behind bars.
Quebec man Roger Saulnier had a series of run-ins with the law over a 24-hour span last weekend and was locked up after his latest one.
The jeweller had been praised for his response last week when he saw a young woman lose both legs in a train accident: he tied the protruding arteries of her legs to stop all the bleeding. Medical workers marvelled at how well he’d performed the complicated task.
But the Saguenay man now faces several charges including break-and-enter, drunk driving, uttering threats and assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
The ordeal began with an alleged drunk-driving incident, after which police confiscated his car and determined he didn’t have a valid licence.
He was then released and allegedly broke into an ex-girlfriend’s home and assaulted her; then, after being released another time, he allegedly went back to try to persuade her to drop the complaint against him.
Saulnier has been in jail since Sunday. He appeared in court Monday.
He was thrust into the headlines last week when he performed a miraculous feat with no medical training.
During a news conference last week, a jittery, sobbing Saulnier told reporters that natural instinct kicked in.
“My talent as a jeweller is I have agile fingers,” he said.
“It’s fortunate I’m good with my hands. That’s how I was able to save her life.”
But the shock quickly settled in after Saulnier showed such poise at the scene of the accident. He was soon taken to hospital to be treated for shock and given pills to help him sleep.
“I can’t close my eyes without seeing pieces of skin, torn leg and blood,” he said last week.
Lawyer Dominic Bouchard said his client was deeply affected by the life-saving episode. Bouchard said he intends to argue for bail and his client could take out a mortgage to put down the necessary deposit.
“It’s clear that my client is quite perturbed (by last week’s events),” Bouchard told reporters after failing to secure a release Monday.
The case returns to court Wednesday.
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