Charges could be laid in spectacular truck-overpass crash east of Montreal

Quebec provincial police say the driver of a truck may face charges after a spectacular accident that saw a dump truck full of canola seeds smash into an overpass on eastbound Highway 40 in Repentigny, Que., less than 20 kilometres east of Montreal.

The truck, with its bed raised, smash into the pedestrian overpass over the highway on April 4. The overpass has been dismantled.

Accident investigators with Sureté du Québec (SQ) interviewed the truck driver and gathered evidence on the scene.

“According to witness accounts, we were able to establish the truck bed had raised about a kilometre before the overpass was hit,” said SQ spokesman Daniel Thibodeau.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "According to witness accounts, we were able to establish the truck bed had raised about a kilometre before the overpass was hit," said SQ spokesman Daniel Thibodeau.

Both the SQ and the Quebec Association of Artisan Truckers (ANCAI) are suggesting the incident might be due to human error.

“In most cases like this, we’re looking at human error, but we still have to look at the possibility of a mechanical error,” Thibodeau told Global News.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Cargo spills across highway as truck slams into overpass

Either way, Thibodeau says, charges could be laid.

“It could be negligence on the part of the driver, it could be on the part of the company, maybe someone who was supposed to do maintenance,” Thibodeau said.

“At this point, it’s completely wide open to who is responsible, from criminal infractions to highway safety violations resulting in fines.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "At this point, it's completely wide open to who is responsible, from criminal infractions to highway safety violations resulting in fines."

ANCAI president Jean-Pierre Garand told Global News the driver could have accidentally activated the mechanism raising the bed without noticing.

WATCH BELOW: Truck slams into overpass near Montreal, spills cargo across highway

0:33 Truck slams into overpass near Montreal, spills cargo across highway

There are no specific rules forcing trucks to have a clear indicator in the cab that their bed is up.

It’s something Transports Quebec is looking into for upcoming changes to the highway safety code.

Transport experts believe such rules are long overdue.

“It’s a very slow process to make change, unfortunately. This is a change that is obviously required,” said traffic expert Rick Leckner.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a very slow process to make change, unfortunately. This is a change that is obviously required," said traffic expert Rick Leckner.

Thibodeau said trouble could also be on the way for the person who took the viral video.

“Taking video while at the wheel, that is not something we can condone or recommend, and our investigators are looking into that aspect. Fines can be levied against the person who was filming,” he said.

The company that owns the truck told Global News they would not comment.