Deadly holiday weekend in Quebec as police report fatal crashes, drownings

At least 10 people lost their lives on the roads and in the water in Quebec this long weekend as the province celebrated its annual Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day holiday.

Provincial police say five people died following car crashes in the Centre-du-Québec, Montérégie and Mauricie regions. They say four others are in critical condition.

The incidents include a motorcyle crash in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough, which left a 30-year-old man in critical condition, a fatal all-terrain vehicle crash in Lac-Saint-Jean, which killed a teenager, and several other car crashes.

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The long weekend festivities began Thursday evening and continued to Monday. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day fell on a Saturday this year, so much of the province had both Friday and Monday off, and others had one of the two days.

As for drownings, authorities say a 22-year-old man drowned early Friday evening in the Saint-Lawrence River near Montreal’s Verdun beach. His body was pulled from the water just before midnight by Sûreté du Québec (SQ) divers.

“The river’s current is strong, the shore is rugged, the depth of the water changes suddenly which causes a big variation in water currents, which can be fatal.”

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Verdun borough mayor Marie-Andrée Mauger said the victim was swimming in a non-surveilled zone of the beach.

She issued a statement reminding people to be vigilant, saying, “The river’s current is strong, the shore is rugged, the depth of the water changes suddenly which causes a big variation in water currents, which can be fatal.”

Four other drownings were reported in the last few days. A man in his 50s died in the river in Côte-de-Beaupré, near Quebec City Saturday night.

Police say he was out alone on a boat that broke down and the man attempted to swim to shore. He was not wearing a lifejacket. His body was found an hour later.

The three other drownings include a 26-year-old in Opasatica Lake in Témiscamingue who went out into the water to swim Friday night and never returned. The SQ found his body the following day.

A 29-year-old died Saturday in Beauchamp Lake in Abitibi after going paddle boarding without a lifejacket.

According to officials a 15-year-old drowned late Thursday evening in the Ashuapmushuan River in the region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

— with files from The Canadian Press

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