A reckless 43-year-old cyclist was fatally run over by a tanker late Tuesday morning in downtown Montreal.
The tragic collision occurred around 11:20 a.m., at the corner of boulevard De Maisonneuve Est and avenue Papineau, an area particularly popular with cyclists.
Maxime Deland / QMI Agency
According to our information, the cyclist was traveling northbound on Papineau Avenue and zigzagging between vehicles in the traffic lanes.
“He came to a stop at a red light at boulevard De Maisonneuve and it was while leaving at the green light that the accident occurred,” said agent Sabrina Gauthier, spokesperson for the police. Montreal.
Maxime Deland / QMI Agency
According to several witnesses, the cyclist, who was riding on a fatbikewould then have gone back around the vehicles, but he would have hit the back of a tanker truck which was traveling in the same direction as him.
The cyclist, in his forties, would then have made a fall, before passing under the rear wheels of the heavyweight.
Maxime Deland / QMI Agency
In all likelihood, the tanker driver would not have been aware of what had just happened.
Unsuspecting, the latter continued on his way to then take the Jacques-Cartier bridge towards the South Shore.
The driver of the truck, a 53-year-old man, was finally located at the end of the day outside the Montreal region.
“The man will soon be met by the police,” said agent Julien Lévesque, spokesperson for the SPVM.
As for the cyclist, he had no chance and he would have died on the spot. He was pronounced dead on the spot and a sheet was placed over his body.
This accident caused immense traffic congestion around the Jacques-Cartier Bridge because sections of Papineau Avenue and De Maisonneuve Boulevard were completely closed for investigation purposes.