Coroner Donald Nicole recommends cleaning up the Dufferin-Montmorency sector where the horrific accident that killed four people occurred on September 2, 2021. The coroner also says he doesn’t understand why only one person contacted police after a drunk driver’s erratic driving.
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In its report, submitted on November 28th, Me Nicole sends a very clear message to drunk drivers, but also to any citizen who occasionally witnesses an abnormal situation.
During the police investigation, multiple witnesses confirmed that the driver of the Subaru vehicle had spent the afternoon consuming alcohol at a Quebec City bar, that he showed signs of intoxication upon exiting the bar at the end of the afternoon, that he had damaged other vehicles without stopping after leaving the bar, driving at a speed in excess of legal limits, overtaking dangerously and driving recklessly, erratically and erratically in the moments leading up to the fatal collision.
“However, of all the people who witnessed the erratic driving and reckless behavior of the driver of the Subaru vehicle, only one contacted the police to update them of the situation and to advise them that the driver appeared to be intoxicated for four minutes.” before the accident,” he wrote.
After consulting various stakeholders, including SAAQ, Éduc’alcool and MADD, he found that few citizens report people about to drive or operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs.
In addition, he notes that the configuration of this stretch of road on which the accident occurred appears problematic given the observed speeds above the permitted limit.
He therefore recommends that the Ministère des Transports complete its analysis of the sector where the incident occurred as soon as possible.
The MTQ was intended to transform the sector in a way that would change driver behavior, thereby reducing traffic speeds and the risk of accidents.
Work to install a photo radar on the Dufferin-Montmorency (440) highway began last month and is expected to be completed by early 2023.
Jackson Fortin, 14, died during the tragedy along with his sister Emma Lemieux, 10, his mother Shellie Fletcher-Lemieux, 44, and grandfather James Fletcher, 68.
They were hit head-on by a drunk driver driving at 130 km/h near the traffic lights at the intersection with Boulevard François-De Laval, where the speed dropped from 100 km/h to 70 km/h. Driver Éric Légaré was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
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