(Val-Brillant) A young motorist in his twenties lost his life following a collision with a freight train on Thursday afternoon in Val-Brillant, in Bas-Saint-Laurent.
The accident occurred around 3:40 p.m. on rue Saint-Pierre Est at the intersection of route 132 in the MRC of La Matapédia.
According to information from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the driver of the vehicle, who was alone on board, did not stop when the train passed, which then hit him.
“The driver was taken to hospital for serious injuries. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead a few hours later,” said an SQ spokesperson, Sergeant Béatrice Dorsainville.
Police officers from the Canadian National railway company and an SQ agent were dispatched to the scene of the accident in order to shed light on the causes and circumstances.
“The investigation tends to demonstrate that blindness from the sun could have been a contributing factor to this collision,” said Sergeant Dorsainville.
Rue Saint-Pierre Est was reopened to traffic early Thursday evening.