Fiery Highway 40 collision caused by Bombardier brake problem: CNESST

An emergency brake problem is to blame for the fiery crash that killed 55-year-old Gilbert Prince last summer on Highway 40 in Montreal, according to a report by Quebec’s worker health and safety board (CNESST).

“The principal causes of the accident to be an insufficient distance between vehicles to allow the driver to avoid the collision and the sudden braking of another tanker truck after its emergency brake suddenly forced it to stop,” the report states.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The principal causes of the accident to be an insufficient distance between vehicles to allow the driver to avoid the collision and the sudden braking of another tanker truck after its emergency brake suddenly forced it to stop," <a href="http://www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca/salle-de-presse/communiques/Pages/21-juin-2017-montreal.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the report states</a>.

The accident happened just before rush hour on Aug. 9 on the Metropolitan, near Lajeunesse Street, resulting in several explosions.

READ MORE: ‘It’s like the apocalypse,’ one dead after fiery accident on Highway 40

A CNESST reconstruction of the deadly accident shows a truck, owned by Bombardier, had suddenly stopped in the middle of the highway after its emergency brake was activated.

The report found this isn’t the first time this has happened and blames Bombardier for not adequately monitoring its trucks after several emergency brake issues in 2016.

Two of these incidents occurred on the A-40, near where the fatal accident took place.

“Adequate follow-ups of these events would have made it possible to take the necessary measures to comply with tanker truck standards and prevent untimely braking,” the report states.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Adequate follow-ups of these events would have made it possible to take the necessary measures to comply with tanker truck standards and prevent untimely braking," the report states.

After the Bombardier truck halted suddenly, a cube truck braked just behind it and was hit by an 18-wheeler as it tried to change lanes.

READ MORE: Widow mourns trucker who died in fiery Highway 40 accident

Prince’s truck then crashed into the pile-up, spilling flammable liquid onto the highway.

READ MORE: Man who tried to save driver from burning tanker on Highway 40 released from hospital

It caught fire, which ignited the diesel fuel inside the tanker.

WATCH BELOW: Carol Bujold tries to help Gilbert Prince, trapped in his truck

Prince’s final minutes were captured by an onlooker who was filming on a cellphone.

READ MORE: Projet Montréal questions city’s emergency protocol following Highway 40 accident

According to the CNESST, 61 workers have lost their lives in road accidents in Quebec in the last five years; five of them have been in the Montreal area.