Car crash in Pointe-claire claims life of 16-year-old
Twice in month, a vehicle has fallen from walkway to ground below
Soulanges MNA Marilyne Picard announced Wednesday the tragic death of Noah-leewis Mercier, her husband's son, who died of injuries suffered in a violent car crash Saturday near the Sources Blvd. overpass in Pointe-claire.
Mercier would have turned 17 years old on Dec. 22, Picard wrote on her Facebook page.
“Our family, having already suffered so much with the illness of one of our children, is tightly knit. We will take this holiday moment of rest to comfort ourselves,” she wrote.
Police said the 18-year-old driver of the vehicle remains in critical condition. The cause of the deadly crash is still under investigation.
“At this point, we don't know what caused the accident or the circumstances leading to that accident,” said Montreal police spokesperson J.P. Brabant. “There are elements to evaluate and are still under investigation.”
Saturday's fatal crash is the second accident to occur in less than a month in the area of the Sources Blvd. overpass near Highway 20.
Another vehicle crashed in the same location on Nov. 30. In that accident, the driver survived the crash, suffering only minor injuries.
In both recent accidents, the crashed cars ended up beneath a winding pedestrian walkway that spans Highway 20 and Cardinal Ave.
In the first accident, the car came to stop near a bus stop on the south side of Cardinal Ave., directly below the pedestrian overpass.
The second accident, which occurred around 4 a.m. Saturday morning, damaged the railings, lighting and surface of the pedestrian overpass.
The city of Pointe-claire subsequently closed the walkway overpass indefinitely on Monday. A metal fence, with a lock, was installed, preventing anyone from traversing the paved overpass.
Users of the overpass, including cyclists, are being asked to use the tunnel at the Valois train station, about 750 metres west of the overpass.
There are entrances to the pedestrian overpass on both Cardinal Ave. and de l'église Ave. in Pointeclaire. Normally, the walkway entrances do not have any type of barrier to prevent a vehicle from driving on them.
Initial reports said the car containing the two teenagers was travelling southbound on Sources Blvd. when it lost control.
“That was the first hypothesis, one of the hypotheses that we're looking at,” Brabant said. “Speeding would be a factor and speeding created the circumstances that led to the driver going out of control.”
He said a mechanical inspection of the vehicle would also be done.
Although there appears to be a damaged section of railing on the Sources overpass, Brabant did not rule the possibility the car had been driving on the pedestrian walkway.
“That's a good question. We're not closing any doors. We met with some witnesses and there is analysis to be done.”
He said the death of the 16-yearold passenger is tragic news as the Christmas holidays approach.