The Quebec police watchdog (BEI) is looking into a Laval Police Service (SPL) operation in which two people were killed and one was seriously injured in early August. The BEI reported in a news release that it launched an investigation on Thursday into the events of Aug. 5, during which a vehicle plowed into a training centre in Laval after attempting to flee from police. At approximately 1:19 a.m. on Aug. 5, a patrol car reportedly observed a vehicle committing a possible violation of the Highway Safety Code. The patrol car then reportedly attempted to intercept the vehicle, which fled; the patrol car subsequently called off the pursuit, the BEI stated. On the day of the incident, an SPL spokesperson said that the officers had called off the pursuit because the vehicle had “accelerated drastically.” The car then reportedly lost control further down the road before colliding with a fitness centre located on Laurentides Boulevard, the SPL also reported. The BEI states that two people in the vehicle were transported to a hospital with serious injuries, where one of them was pronounced dead. A third person was pronounced dead at the scene. A 19-year-old woman was among those who died, the SPL specified on Aug. 5. “Given the circumstances of the incident, police support services were not required in this case,” the BEI stated. The Bureau is asking anyone who may have witnessed this incident to contact them. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 21, 2026.
