1 killed, 4 injured in single-vehicle crash on Guy-Lafleur Highway

A Surete du Quebec police car is seen in Montreal on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

A driver is dead and 4 other passengers were injured after a crash on the Guy-Lafleur Highway (formerly Highway 50) in the Outaouais region of Quebec on early Saturday morning.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) tells CTV News Ottawa that officers were called to the highway at approximately 3:15 a.m. near the town of Papineauville, located 70 kilometres east of Gatineau and 140 kilometres west of Montreal.

Provincial police say witnesses observed the car travelling at a high rate of speed in the eastbound lanes, before hitting a guardrail and rolling over.

The driver, a 22-year-old man from Longueil, Que., was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries, the SQ said.

Four of the passengers onboard, who were also in their 20's, sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Provincial police say an initial investigation has found alcohol could have been a factor in the crash, based on the high rate of speed and from witness observations.

Highway 50 was closed for approximately six hours and was reopened at 9:40 a.m. The circumstances of the crash continue to be under investigation.

It's the second fatal collision on Guy-Lafleur Highway this week. On Tuesday, three people were killed in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge when an eastbound vehicle crossed into the westbound lanes near the Montée Boucher overpass.