Truck driver crashed, died because he was exhausted: SQ

A Surete du Quebec vehicle is stopped at the side of the road.

MONTREAL — A truck driver has died after crashing his semi-trailer truck on Highway 20, Quebec provincial police confirmed.

The force hypothesizes that he was experiencing extreme fatigue, which made him lose control of the vehicle.

The incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. Thursday on Highway 20 West, near Saint-Simon, northeast of Saint-Hyacinthe.

According to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), it seems the driver lost control of his truck and ended up in the median.

First-responders used the jaws of life to remove the victim from the truck.

The 53-year-old man from Louiseville was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The highway was completely closed to westbound traffic until 5 a.m. to allow police to canvass the scene before one lane was eventually reopened.

The SQ says it has notified the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) of what happened.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 2, 2021.