MONTREAL — A man in his 70s died and at least 15 people suffered minor injuries Wednesday in one of several pileups on Montreal area highways in the midst of a winter storm.
Provincial police Sgt. Joyce Kemp said the man died when at least 50 vehicles were involved in a crash at about 1 p.m. crash on the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 20) at Mont. St. Hilaire, but could not give an exact number.
Police say several tractor-trailers were involved in the crash, which was likely caused by poor driving conditions due to a winter storm.
Autoroute 20 Ouest #A20 - Carambolage impliquant une cinquantaine de véhicules à la hauteur de #MontSaintHilaire. Les services d'urgence sont en direction.
— Sûreté du Québec (@sureteduquebec) February 7, 2018
The westbound lanes of the highway were closed until about 6 p.m. once the damaged vehicles were towed away.
Another pileup on Highway 10 east of Montreal in Eastman, Que., involved about 30 vehicles, with no injuries.
Still another multi-vehicle crash on Highway 30 in St. Constant, Que., closed that road in both directions. One person was taken to hospital to be treated for shock.
A storm that started early Wednesday was expected to last into the night and dump 10 to 15 centimetres of snow in the Montreal area.