Passenger killed after vehicle crashes and hits tree in Montreal

FILE PHOTO (Daniel J. Rowe / CTV News Montreal)

MONTREAL — The passenger of a vehicle that crashed Friday night in Montreal's Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough died of his injuries.

The victim is 18 years old.

The 19-year-old driver of the vehicle was also transported to hospital but his injuries are not life-threatening.

Several calls were made to 911 on Friday evening, around 9:40 p.m., indicating that a vehicle had struck a tree on Saint-Donat St., near Vincent-Piette St. It is unclear why the driver lost control of his vehicle while travelling northbound on Saint-Donat.

Montreal firefighters were called in to extricate the two occupants of the vehicle.

"The scene was secured to allow investigators in the collision investigation unit to better understand the causes and circumstances surrounding this collision," said Montreal police (SPVM) spokesperson Constable Véronique Comtois.

"Currently, the speed and weather conditions are hypotheses that are being studied," she said.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 15, 2021.