Two road flaggers were injured, one seriously, by a motorist who allegedly tried to pass through a construction site in Pointe-aux-Trembles late Wednesday evening before fleeing. An association representing flaggers is concerned about the “growing” danger around the profession.
According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), a call was received around 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday for a hit-and-run that had just occurred at the corner of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Industriel boulevards.
Once at the scene, the police located two victims, who were traffic flaggers, both 39 years old. The first had suffered minor injuries, but the second was seriously injured in the upper body. He had to be rushed to a hospital center, where there were fears for his life on Thursday.
According to the first information gathered from witnesses of the scene, “the collision would have occurred when the driver tried to pass through the construction site”, explained agent Gabriella Youakim, spokesperson for the SPVM.
The motorist would then have gone in a rush, without stopping, without bringing assistance to the two victims. An investigation has been launched to locate this driver. Thursday, the SPVM was not yet able to reveal a description of its vehicle. Investigators in particular combed the scene, looking for clues. Videotapes from nearby surveillance cameras could also be viewed to trace the sequence of events and potentially identify the suspect’s vehicle.
The CNESST confirmed at the end of the day Thursday that it will conduct an investigation. Its inspectors notably prohibited the continuation of the site “in order to ensure that the working methods are safe”. The employer will have to transmit his working method before being able to relaunch his activities.
An already “busy” summer
For the president of the Association bringing together installers and flaggers of Quebec (ARISQ), Éric Laflamme, the summer of 2023 is already very “busy” for its members, which sows concern for the future. “Just yesterday, we had three accidents, including the one in Pointe-aux-Trembles. It has to stop, it’s not going down, it’s rather getting worse from year to year, ”he breathes.
In 2022, 210 road flaggers were injured on Quebec roads, compared to 161 in 2021, 104 workers in 2020, 80 in 2019, 75 in 2018 and around 60 in 2017. In 2016, 47 accidents occurred. In short, the upward trend is clear,
Moreover, several of these collisions were fatal, such as that of the signalman Marc Séguin hit by a motorist on a construction site in October 2022 in Carignan in Montérégie, an event that the CNESST had however mainly attributed to “deficient” signaling management. “.
The ARISQ is calling on the government in particular for a “greater police presence when construction sites are closed or open”. “We are told that the police are understaffed, but the signage, it will also be understaffed possibly by dint of seeing our workers being beaten,” laments Mr. Laflamme.
His group is also asking in the short term that cameras be installed “at each end of the site” to capture the scene of an accident. “Currently, when the police do not have access to images, the culprit very often washes his hands of it, runs away and goes into hiding. It’s ridiculous”, persists the president.
Mayor Valérie Plante argued on Twitter Thursday that “construction workers on our roads are doing important work in conditions that are not always easy”. “Impatience or recklessness towards them has no place and they deserve our full respect, no matter the detours required,” she pleaded.
“This tragic incident is a senseless act, even highly criminal and totally unspeakable,” argued the president of Bitume Québec, Tytus Zurawski. His group invites Quebec to “legislate more and to implement much more severe penalties and fines for those who are guilty of such acts of total incivility”.