The driver of a van was met by Sûreté du Québec investigators on Monday afternoon after hitting “several” pedestrians along Route 132, in Amqui, in Bas-Saint-Laurent. We fear for the lives of some.
The event occurred around 3 p.m., Monday afternoon, near the La Captive microbrewery, not far from downtown Amqui. We still do not know the exact number of victims or the nature of their injuries, but we fear for the lives of some, said the SQ.
“When we arrived in Amqui, there was an ambulance and someone lying on the side of the road. About 400 feet further, there was another person on the ground and a woman from the Sûreté du Québec was giving him a cardiac massage. In all, I counted at least four adults on the ground”, tells The Press Alan Gilbert.
The trucker from Saint-Hyacinthe passed through Amqui, heading for New Richmond, a few minutes after the tragedy. “I saw people panicking on the sidewalk,” he recalls.
“We cannot yet say anything about the seriousness of the injuries, but we know that there are people who have been taken to the hospital,” said a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec, Claude Doiron, while the information was always fragmented.
The driver of the van was met by SQ investigators in the afternoon when Route 132, called Boulevard Saint-Benoît Ouest where the accident occurred, was closed in both directions.
“I take the direction of Amqui and I cancel my presence tomorrow at the National Assembly. […] The toll would be very heavy. […] I am troubled by what I am told, ”commented the local deputy, Pascal Bérubé, on Twitter.
“Preliminary information reports a serious accident in Amqui. The teams are on their way and we are monitoring the situation closely, ”reacted the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel.
Psychosocial support is offered for witnesses, said Bloc Québécois MP for Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia, Kristina Michaud, on Facebook. “While waiting to learn more, thank you to the police, responders, ambulance and health personnel who are doing everything to assist the injured,” she added.
Bypasses have been set up to allow collision investigators to go on site to try to reconstruct the circumstances that led to the tragedy.
The spokesperson for the Bas-Saint-Laurent Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS), Gilles Turmel, confirmed to Radio-Canada that a code orange is in progress at the Amqui hospital. This code means that there would be more than six victims heading for the hospital.