Three people struggled after a five-vehicle pileup, including three trucks, on Highway 30 in Bécancour, Center-du-Québec, Monday afternoon.
The accident occurred around 2:15 p.m. on a stretch of Highway 30 with only one lane in each direction, said Éloïse Cossette, spokeswoman for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
In total, a car, a van, two 10-wheel trucks and a 53-foot truck were involved in the collision. After the accident, the trucks caught fire, the SQ added.
Three drivers suffered serious injuries and feared for their lives, while two others escaped with injuries classified as minor.
Trucks transported stones and grain. After the accident there was a diesel leak, so a team from the Ministry of the Environment was expected on site.
“There was a bad plume of black smoke,” testified Rene Abbott, who saw the scene from another road after exiting Highway 30.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RENÉ ABBOTT
In his opinion, the scene of the accident is not particularly dangerous. “But it's a highway where it meets and it happens that there are people who overtake when it doesn't look right,” he argued.
The highway was completely closed to traffic while the authorities worked.
An investigation was launched with the assistance of a reconstructionist to determine the cause of the collision.
-With Olivier Faucher