Canada: Two dead, 9 injured after truck ploughs into pedestrians | News

Quebec’s Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault said it was too early to say if the driver intentionally hit the pedestrians.

Two men have died after a pick-up truck ploughed into pedestrians beside a road in a small town in eastern Quebec province.

The truck hit several people on a pavement outside a microbrewery, then continued for another 400 to 500 metres along the road, swerving and striking more people, witnesses told local media on Monday.

A provincial police spokeswoman said nine people were injured, including two in a serious condition.

Sergeant Hélène St-Pierre said the 38-year-old driver, a resident, turned himself in to police and was arrested for allegedly committing a fatal hit and run.

“The driver of the pick-up truck hit pedestrians who were walking along Route 132. He continued on his way for a certain distance and hit other pedestrians,” Sergeant Claude Doiron was quoted as saying by Canadian broadcaster CBC.

Quebec’s Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault said it was too early to say if the driver intentionally hit the pedestrians, the news report said.

St-Pierre said the two people killed were both men, one in his 60s and the other in his 70s.

The incident happened just after 3pm along St-Benoit Boulevard in Amqui, a town 350km (220 miles) northeast of Quebec City.

“My heart is with the people of Amqui, Quebec today,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter message. “As we learn more about the tragic events that have taken place, I’m keeping everyone affected in my thoughts.”

Last month in Laval, Quebec, police said a man driving a city bus deliberately smashed into a daycare centre, killing two children.

In 2021, a man used a pick-up to kill four members of an immigrant family in London, Ontario, in what Trudeau said was a hate crime directed at Muslims.

In 2018, a man in a van rampaged through pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 people.