Fifth man dies following van-school bus collision

Gilles Chartier was the fifth of the victims to die.

A fifth man has died following Wednesday's brutal crash in Berthierville.

Thursday morning the Surete du Quebec confirmed that 26-year-old Gilles Chartier succumbed to the injuries he sustained when a passenger van collided with a school bus.

Steeve Larochelle, 26, died Wednesday several hours after the crash, while Pierre-Luc Martel, 22, Sebastien Cormier, 30, and Jocelyn Beauchamp, 28, all died instantly.

Three other men in the van are in hospital in critical condition more than 24 hours after the crash.

A dozen high school students and the bus driver suffered only minor injuries.

The men were all employees of the chicken farming operation Pigeon, located in Saint Come. They were on their way home after a night shift at a farm near Trois Rivieres, and were being driven to homes in Joliette and Saint Come.

The SQ is trying to determine why the van veered over the centreline while navigating the turn at the intersection of Routes 158 and 345 near Berthierville.

Transport Quebec has ruled out road conditions as a cause of the crash.