An 18-year-old young man lost his life after being struck down by a Société de transport de Montréal (STM) bus on Saint-Denis Street in Montreal.
The event occurred Tuesday around 4:30 p.m., on Saint-Denis Street, at the intersection with Rigaud Street, in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.
“The bus arrived very quickly, it turned to the left while the young man was in the middle of the street, crossing,” testifies Ajmer Sandhu, who was then at the GURU bistro, located at the intersection.
On a video that The Press was able to watch, we can actually see the bus turning very quickly. The pedestrian, already on the road, only seems to have seen him at the last second. The bus hit him on the side and rolled over him.
“There was a collision, screams, and then nothing,” says the receptionist at the Carré Saint-Louis spa, located next to the bistro.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
A perimeter was set up at the scene and investigators went to the scene to analyze the scene.
When emergency services arrived on the scene, they quickly began resuscitation maneuvers, but the victim was pronounced dead on site.
“Dead instantly”
“He died instantly,” breathes Nathalie Vallières, the spa manager, who was sitting at the table with her colleague Ajmer Sandhu at the time of the collision. She rushed outside with him to try to help the young man.
It shook the people at the reception, the employees were crying.
Nathalie Vallières
According to information from the STM, it is a bus from line 24. There were no passengers on board: the driver was finishing a circuit and going to another line.
A perimeter was set up at the scene and investigators were dispatched to analyze the scene. “Witnesses are currently being met by the police,” said Sabrina Gauthier, spokesperson for the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM). The video tapes from the bus’s cameras will also be analyzed, specifies the STM.
“The STM wishes to offer its most sincere sympathies to the family and loved ones of the victim. Our thoughts are with them during this ordeal,” said Laurence Houde-Roy, spokesperson for the STM, by email. “We will also collaborate fully with the SPVM in its investigation and hope to be able to obtain more information on the circumstances of the event. »
Rue Saint-Denis is closed to traffic between rue Cherrier and rue Sherbrooke, heading south. It is recommended to avoid the area for the next few hours.