Montreal-area woman warns against drunk driving after partner’s death

At just 23 years old, Noa Almaleh lost the love of her life when he was crushed by a boat trailer and a man was arrested for impaired driving, causing death. She’s now warning against the dangers of drunk driving.

“It’s definitely not something that I would wish on anybody,” she said.

“It’s been a lot of emotions, a lot of phone calls to places that I never thought I would make … coroners, detectives, prosecutors, funeral arrangements, you know, things for his estate. This is nothing that I ever thought I would be living at this age for a partner.”

Almaleh said she and 29-year-old Codey Daly had known each other for years, were in love and were just days away from moving in together when his life was cut short.

Daly owned and operated several restaurants in Montreal’s West Island and in Vaudreuil. Almaleh said everyone he met loved him, and he had a special way to put people at ease.

The last time she spoke to him was Aug. 16, when he called her while she was at a friend’s bachelorette party in Atlantic City. He was going boating with some friends.

“He was telling me his phone might die and that he was probably he was heading back and would text me later. I said, ‘Okay, I love you.’ And he said, ‘I love you,’” Almaleh told CTV News.

Hours later, she found out he had been injured when he was pinned by a boat trailer to the garage door of his friend’s house. She didn’t know how bad his injuries were until she got a call from his mother saying he died.

“I just remember looking up at my friends, and words aren’t coming out,” Almaleh said. “I just remember saying, he’s dead, and I bolted out of this restaurant.”

Once she got back to Montreal, announcing his death to loved ones was heart-wrenching.

“Everyone was just in tears. What the heck just happened?” she said.

Their grief was made worse when the driver of the vehicle was arrested. Alexander Paliotti was formally charged with impaired driving causing death in March and is scheduled to appear in court in Valleyfield Thursday.

“That’s what replays in my head every single day, is that one small decision, well, very big decision, could have changed the entire outcome of that night,” she said.

“And that is calling an Uber and leaving your boat at the dock instead of driving it home that night.”

While preparing for court proceedings to start, Almaleh says the family is working through their deep grief by keeping Daly’s memory alive.

In his obituary, Daly’s family requested donations be made to Mothers Against Drunk Driving in his name. They also held a holiday fundraiser in support of the women’s shelter in Vaudreuil.

“There’s nothing else that we can do but keep his name remembered by talking about it and spreading awareness of what could happen,” said Almaleh.

She wants everyone to stop before they get behind the wheel if they’re under the influence.

“The $45 Uber is a deal compared to what is going to happen if the worst-case scenario happens,” she said.

“You should be thinking, if I do this, I could be risking my own, or worse, somebody else’s life, and it’s not worth it.”