Above watch: Elysia Bryan-Baynes has the latest on the tanker truck explosion
MONTREAL – More information is emerging about the tanker truck explosion on Highway 640 that left one man dead on Sunday.
Truckers who worked with the 50-year-old driver are in mourning but say that stretch of highway is notoriously dangerous.
“He’s been with the company since 2011, appeared to have a very clean record,” explained Rick Leckner, spokesperson of the GHL Transport company.
“He had left the terminal Sunday afternoon with his first delivery of the day when the accident happened.”
At around 4 p.m. Sunday, the truck, carrying 45,000 litres of diesel and gasoline, was involved in a major collision and caught fire near the junction of Highway 40 and 640 close to Charlemagne.
The crash involved the tanker truck a transport truck and four cars, two other people suffered minor injuries.
The explosion left a spectacular plume of black smoke above the region.
The heat of the blaze damaged the roadway and melted highway signs.
On Monday morning, Transport Quebec re-opened most of the roadways but closed it again later in the afternoon to start repairs.
Investigators are still on the scene trying to determine how the accident happened.
Police say speed is not the only factor they consider.
“The driver might’ve had a heart attack before, was there an animal on the road,” said SQ officer, Audrey Anne-Bilodeau
“These are the kinds of things investigators have to go through.”
Gallery: Photos taken by witnesses of black smoke following explosion
- Premier Moe responds to Trudeau’s ‘good luck with that’ comment
- Drumheller hoping to break record for ‘largest gathering of people dressed as dinosaurs’
- As Canada’s tax deadline nears, what happens if you don’t file your return?
- Planning a summer trip to Quebec’s Îles-de-la-Madeleine? You’ll have to pay up
Comments