The road accident involving 11 people near Saint-Frédéric, in Beauce, cost the life of a father from Adstock and two of his children, Wednesday afternoon. Other family members are still in critical condition.
• Read also: [PHOTOS] Beauce: 2 dead and 9 injured in a major accident on Route 112
The minivan that contained the six members of the family was traveling on Route 112, between Saint-Frédéric and Vallée-Jonction, when the tragedy occurred. For some unknown reason, their vehicle collided head-on with an oncoming semi-trailer truck.
The 42-year-old man from Adstock who was driving the car lost his life on Wednesday, as did his 12-year-old son. His wife and three other children who were also in the vehicle were seriously injured.
Photo QMI AGENCY, MARCEL TREMBLAY
Thursday morning, family members confirmed to the Log that a second child, a 4-year-old girl, had also breathed her last.
The five people in the truck were not seriously injured.
“Think of the children”
Met on site by The newspaper, Normand Jacques explains that he was one of the first to arrive on the scene. It is that the incident happened right in front of his residence.
“We heard like an explosion, a big boom! We thought a car had just smashed the house, ”says the man who was at the back of the house when the collision took place.
After contacting the authorities, Mr. Jacques went outside to offer his help, but first responders quickly arrived on the scene to take matters into their own hands.
Photo QMI Agency, Marc Vallières
“There was a lady who was shouting: ‘Don’t take care of me, think of the children, think of the children!'” he explains.
Nebulous circumstances
For several stakeholders contacted by The newspaper, the circumstances of this incident are unclear. It must be said that the section of road affected by the accident is a straight line where the roadway was completely dry and there was no trace of sun in the sky.
Moreover, the truck belonged to the Center de formation en transport de Charlesbourg, which was in service with four students and a teacher on board at the time of the incident. However, this sector of Route 112 is frequently used by this organization.
“They often come there to practice braking, as there is a small slope. We hear them compress over a few hundred meters. They know the area,” says Micheline Grenier, mayor of Saint-Frédéric.
The Sûreté du Québec has not ruled out any hypothesis as to the reasons for the collision for the moment.