The snowboarder caught by a motorist who then fled on Sunday evening, died Monday morning. The vehicle involved in this hit-and-run in the Centre-Sud was also located by the police, approximately four kilometers from the scene of the collision, not far from the Port of Montreal facilities.
It was the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) which confirmed Monday, at the start of the day, that the young victim who was riding a skateboard died in a hospital center in the morning. “Our investigators are still actively working on the case to identify the driver,” said officer Jeanne Drouin, spokesperson for the Montreal police.
Several witnesses have been met in particular in the last hours, and others should be on Monday. Investigators should also have access to videotapes from surveillance cameras located near the collision site, to draw up a more precise sequence of events.
A vehicle was also found after a 911 call was made on Sunday evening. The initial report mentioned a car “left without an occupant”, on a vacant lot at the corner of Sicard and Notre-Dame Est streets, in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
After leaving a doubt, the SPVM confirmed at the end of the morning that the abandoned vehicle is indeed the one that was involved in the hit and run that caused the death. The motorist had grabbed the victim around 6:30 p.m., late Sunday afternoon, at the corner of avenue De Lorimier and rue Sainte-Catherine.
“Investigative steps were immediately initiated on the ground” where the automobile was found, confirms agent Drouin on this subject. The vehicle was towed overnight for further investigation.
More details should be provided soon on the progress of the investigation. If no suspect is apprehended, a description of the latter could possibly be provided to the public, in order to advance the search. No arrests have yet been made in this case.
“Urgent to do more”
On Twitter, the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, spoke Monday of a “sad and intolerable death”. “My thoughts are with the loved ones of the victim. There is an urgent need to do more to make active travel safer. We continue to accelerate our actions,” she said.
In opposition, the leader of Ensemble Montreal, Aref Salem, also offered his condolences to the relatives of the victim. “Let’s never forget that behind every road user there is a life that can be destroyed. We all have a role to play in protecting the most vulnerable,” he insisted.
“Each case has its particular circumstances, sometimes there can be a signaling issue, sometimes it can be the driver’s behavior that is lacking, sometimes there can be school zones too”, for its part judged the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, citing the case of young Mariia Legenkivska, killed by a motorist on her way to school.
Mme Guilbault recalls being working on an “enhanced road safety plan”. “Of course, the Government of Quebec has a leadership role to exercise. We have a consolidating role. […] And I know that Mayor Plante is extremely concerned. She too will make her plan,” offered the minister, saying she was “extremely concerned about the situation.”
Hit and run offenses on the rise
This all comes as the number of hit-and-runs is on the rise in Montreal. The SPVM recorded 5,246 hit and run offenses in 2022, or 13% more than the previous year. In the territory covered by neighborhood station 22, including the Centre-Sud, 52 hit and run offenses were recorded in the last quarter of 2022, compared to 41 in the same period in 2021, an increase of 27%.
In metropolitan France, arrests for dangerous driving are also up by 13.5%, namely 177 of them in 2022 against 156 in 2021.
According to the account first offered by Montreal police on Sunday, the 22-year-old was riding a skateboard east-west on Sainte-Catherine Street when he was hit by a motorist coming from the north, at the intersection of avenue De Lorimier. The driver of the vehicle reportedly left the scene following the impact, thus committing a hit-and-run.
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Investigators had set up a large security perimeter on Sunday evening by closing De Lorimier Avenue between René-Lévesque and Maisonneuve Boulevards and Saint-Catherine Street between Cartier and Parthenais streets. Specialized investigators notably went to the scene in an attempt to establish the circumstances of the tragedy.
At this location, Avenue De Lorimier is quite wide, with three lanes of traffic in each direction. A traffic light is also present. On Sunday evening, the young victim’s skateboard could still be seen on the scene, split in two. Note also that the skateboard park located at the corner of boulevard Maisonneuve and avenue De Lorimier is currently under construction and covered in snow.
With Vincent Larin and Julien Arsenault, The Press