A man in his 70s has died and at least 15 people suffered minor injuries after a 50-vehicle pile-up on Highway 20 near Mont-Saint-Hilaire, south of Montreal.
The accident happened around 1 p.m. Wednesday and involved several heavy-weight trucks.
“There was black ice everywhere. My heart was beating so fast,” said Vincent Unterberg, a driver who was in the pile-up.
“I saw in my rear window a 4×4 coming fast and trying to get a grip on the road, but he couldn’t. I thought he was going to hit me, but he didn’t.”
Unterberg said the driver smashed into a road sign and he had to crawl out the passenger window.
“An 18-year-old woman driver smashed into an 18-wheeler. Her car is a total loss,” he told Global News, adding he believes she was in shock, but not injured.
Transports Quebec reopened the highway late Wednesday night.
“Buses are currently onsite so that people that are not hurt can find refuge and go home,” Joyce Kemp, a spokesperson with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), told Global News.
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“Delay your trips by car and consult Quebec 511 before you go out.”
As a result of slippery road conditions, provincial police are warning drivers to slow down and keep their distance.
There is also an accident on Highway 10 westbound in Magog, near Route 112, where there is a 30-car pile-up.
Emergency vehicles are also on their way to a multi-vehicle accident on Autoroute 15 south in Mirabel, near de la Côte-Nord Road.
Both the west- and eastbound Highway 30, between Autoroute 730 in Saint-Constant and Highway 15 in Candiac, is closed indefinitely because of an accident.
Transports Quebec is warning drivers that road conditions and visibility are difficult in southern Quebec on Highways 10, 20, 30, and 40.
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