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michele hirschfeld stands in front of a billboard her family erected on skead road to remember her son and draw attention to the long wait they have endured for justice in his case.
justice delayed is justice denied. this is the painful truth for the hirschfeld family of skead.
two years after adam hirschfeld was killed by an alleged impaired driver, the family is still waiting for the case to be heard in court. the accused remains free on bail and a trial date has now been pushed to september 2026 in superior court — delayed by a growing backlog in the judicial system and a shortage of judges.
to keep adam’s memory alive and to deter the public from impaired driving, the hirschfeld family has erected a billboard on skead road.
the sign reads: “adam hirschfeld killed 2 years ago by a drunk driver. no justice served.”
it was here, where the billboard was erected earlier this month, that adam was hit head-on by an alleged impaired driver in the early-morning hours of june 17, 2023. the 29-year-old father died at the scene.
“just don’t drink and drive,” michele said about the simple message the family wishes to convey with the billboard. “if it stops one person, if it makes them think behind getting behind the wheel.”
the sudbury star interviewed the grieving mother last summer. at the time, she spoke of erecting a billboard, like the let’s remember adam campaign created in memory of adam ranger, 5, who was killed by a driver who failed to stop for his school bus in 2000.
“it’s been two years, and we just received notice that the case has been put off until september 2026,” she said from her home. “that will make it three years. justice delayed is justice denied. that is how i really feel.”
michele also fears that her son’s memory will fade, and with it, any hope of justice.
“it feels like the longer this is being dragged out, people lose sensitivity,” she said. she hopes the billboard, aside from deterring impaired driving, will help motorists remember her adam and the upcoming trial.
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nuno duraes is facing charges of dangerous driving causing death, impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving with a blood-alcohol level over 80 mg in connection to adam hirschfeld’s death.
greater sudbury police said officers responded around 3 a.m. on june 17, 2023, to the crash, along with paramedics and firefighters. three people were found trapped in the two vehicles.
“two individuals in the vehicle that crossed the centre line were extricated from the vehicle by fire services and were transported to hospital by paramedic services,” police said in a press release issued at the time. “unfortunately, the driver and lone occupant of the other vehicle, a 29-year-old man, was pronounced deceased on scene.”
duraes was arrested for impaired driving causing death but released unconditionally for sustaining critical injuries that required medical care. once recovered from injuries, in september 2023, he was arrested and charged.
the case is now headed directly to trial. the accused is out on bail and since earlier this year was granted the right to drive, provided an ignition interlock device is installed in the vehicle.
michele said adam often volunteered to be a designated driver when his friends drank, and believes he would approve of the billboard. at the same time, she knows her free-spirited son would want his family to find healing, stay strong and rediscover joy.
but michele said that’s difficult when the case is moving at a snail’s pace and no one has been held accountable for the loss of life.
“he’s living his life like nothing happened,” she said of duraes. “and we are left to pick up the pieces.”
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