A new person is out of danger after the tragedy that killed two people in addition to injuring nine others, Monday, in Amqui.
In its most recent report, the CHU de Québec indicates that two people are now in critical condition, one less than the day before. A woman was due to undergo an operation on Wednesday. Relatives of the family indicated that her life seemed to be hanging by a thread: the entourage discussed disconnecting the patient, before finally attempting the last chance operation. Two other injured persons remain in stable condition, under observation.
Among the six patients transferred to the Hôpital de L’Enfant-Jésus in the hours following the tragedy, four remain hospitalized. On Tuesday, two children, a baby a few months old and his brother barely three years old, were discharged from hospital.
According to information from Duty, the two patients under observation are the children’s mother and grandfather. Both are able to speak, but no one in their entourage advances as to their eventual release from the hospital or the seriousness of their injuries.
“I will tell him that I love him”
The duty spoke to the father of Jennifer Anctil, the mother now out of danger. It is a man still in shock who opened the door of his residence in Lac-au-Saumon, located a few kilometers from Amqui, on Wednesday.
“I could have lost three at once. That would have been terrible, explained Jean-Louis Anctil, a hint of anger deep in his blue eyes. What do you want me to do about it? Kill him, man? No. The police will take care of it. »
The man of few words comes from a generation reputedly unskilled in expressing his emotions. Without a car, he feels far from his daughter, held in a hospital in Quebec. “She called me this morning. She’s fine, but she’s in pain. »
It was on television that the father first learned of the tragedy experienced by his daughter. “I feel small compared to what happened,” he sighs, a hint of helplessness in his voice. “When I see my daughter again, I’m going to tell her that I love her all the time. The man slowly returns to the living room, where the television, on a non-stop news channel, relays the most recent news about the tragedy that has struck down his loved ones intimately.
Jennifer Anctil’s younger sister, Joanie, briefly recounted the family’s relief at her improving condition. “Everyone is fine, that’s the important thing,” she said on the phone between her baby’s sobs. A third sister has also set up a crowdfunding campaign to help the bereaved family through the hardships to come.
“The recovery will be long,” writes Marie-Soleil. The pennies will be used to provide them with peace of mind for weeks, if not months, to come. Jennifer was expected to return to work shortly, her maternity leave ending… [Son conjoint] will be able to stay at home to take care of his family. »
The drama struck down this family who were walking along boulevard Saint-Benoît on Monday afternoon to enjoy a taste of spring. The van struck not only the mother and her two children, but also her two in-laws. All, fortunately, would be out of danger.
“Meeting postponed for exceptional reason”
The news nevertheless shook the small town of Lac-au-Saumon, already in mourning, since the summer of 2021, of a family decimated in a collision with a heavy goods vehicle. On Monday, the city council was unable to honor its monthly meeting. “Meeting postponed for exceptional cause”, announces another poster, written by hand, placed against the door.
“In any case, people don’t really have the heart to celebrate,” explains Julie Laurent, the administrative assistant of the small municipality. The Anctil clan, in Lac-au-Saumon, is numerous. The whole village knows members of this family, today devastated by the tragedy that strikes one of their own.
The portrait of the victims and the wounded emerges over the meetings with their entourage. Killed by the now imprisoned driver, Jean Lafrenière, 73, will no longer dance several times a week as he used to.
“My spouse knows him better, she was the one who danced with the same group, says Daniel Valcourt, a resident of Amqui. He was super nice: he and his wife liked to walk a lot. »
Monday’s walk took a tragic turn. Many in Amqui are now waiting with apprehension to find out if the spouse of the deceased is among the injured in critical condition.
The other deceased, Gérald Charest, 65, only attracts good words in the city. “He was smart, that gentleman: he always waved at me when I passed him,” says Gaétan Lebrun, storyteller with a thousand anecdotes in Amqui, in the warmth of his garage.
A sign that the proximity, in Amqui, is not a legend: his wife is part of the family of the driver who is now liable to a life sentence. “It’s been years since we’ve had contact with him,” said the colored man, specifying that he had nothing to say about him.
“We have to stop, he pleads before accompanying The duty at the door, to always just talk about the negative. »