A young driver who allegedly killed a little girl on his 18th birthday has been ordered to stand trial.

At a preliminary hearing at the Valleyfield courthouse on Monday, Quebec court judge Marie-Chantale Doucet ruled that Brandon Pardi will be tried on charges of dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.

"The evidence is sufficient to send you to trial," Doucet told the accused in a quick ruling from the bench.

Pardi's lawyer, Pierre Joyal, entered a not-guilty plea on both counts and the case will return to court on Jan. 25.

Pardi is accused of mowing down three-year-old Bianca Leduc on Oct. 31, 2007, while she was helping put up Halloween decorations on her babysitter's lawn in Ile-Perrot, west of Montreal.

Another young man who was also allegedly involved in the crash faces similar charges before a youth court.

He cannot be identified because he was 17 at the time of the accident.

Pardi, now 20, wanted to be tried in youth court since he turned 18 on the day of the fatal accident.

But the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case, and that ultimately left Pardi to face justice as an adult.

Emotional testimony

The court heard from Jacinthe Begin, the young victim's babysitter. She was unable to fight back her tears as she recalled the day of the accident.

Even Pardi cried as Begin explained how horrified she was when the drama unfolded.

She described how she was putting up Halloween decorations on her front lawn two years ago, with the toddler beside her. Then she heard the sound of a car crashing, and screamed when she realized the little girl had disappeared.

It was Richard Gagne, a neighbour, who ran to the rescue.

"I ran with the dog, called 911 and tried to find the girl," said Gagne.

He found her pinned underneath the car that Pardi was driving.

"She was already dead," Gagne said.

Racing?

At issue is whether or not Pardi and his friend were racing in the streets of Ile Perrot when they crashed.

The defence claims they were not. The first driver obeyed a stop sign before making a left turn, but was hit on the side when Pardi tried to pass him at high speed. The collision propelled both cars onto Begin's lawn.

"He testified today to the effect he did make a stop, and that after that the collision occurred and that he doesn't know what happened after that," said Jean-Pierre sharp, the lawyer for Pardi's friend.

But an SQ investigator testified that neither car made a stop, contrary to what eyewitnesses are saying.

Leduc's mother, 23-year-old Nadine Leduc, said she cannot escape the pain of losing her child.

"I try not to think of that day, but it's impossible," she said.

With files from The Canadian Press