Pile-up on the A-20: witnesses happy to have escaped the worst

News 8 February, 2018
  • Photo Agence QMI, Maxime Deland

    Vincent Larin

    Wednesday, February 7, 2018 23:34

    UPDATE
    Wednesday, February 7, 2018 23:34

    Look at this article

    Of the motorists involved in the pileup which left one person dead Wednesday on highway 20 to Mont-Saint-Hilaire say they are lucky to still be alive, so the accident took them by surprise.

    “It was black ice pure. I’ve never been so constrained in my life, but luckily, I avoided running into the stalled vehicles in front of me, ” said Vincent Unterberg.

    The motorist walked into Montreal on Wednesday, visibility was “almost zero” when he saw the immobilized vehicles in the service road.

    “I thought maybe it was traffic, but I quickly realised by looking in front of me that it was not hurt worse than that “, exclaimed he.

    “It was chaotic “

    Other motorists, to its sides, however, have not been so fortunate, including a woman in a state of shock that he received in his car, since hers was a total loss.

    “There are guys in their 4×4’s that have bankrupt me hit it, but they are finally headed for the ditch. It is a sign that has prevented them from doing barrel rolls, ” says Mr. Unterberg.

    During this time, the scene of the pile-up, several motorists injured and other drivers safe and sound waiting for aid relief in their vehicles, says another witness, Sébastien Tremblay.

    “People are stressed. The fire and ambulance services run between the cars. They surrounded the vehicles of the injured with the red ribbon “, he describes.

    A few steps from him was also the vehicle in which a man in his seventies had lost their lives.

    Between the two trucks

    Pascal Leclerc, also a victim of the pile-up, considers himself fortunate to still be alive.

    “I was in the first vehicle involved. It has slowed down a blow dry in front of me. I have tried to avoid the vehicle, but I found myself sandwiched between two trucks of 53 feet, ” said Mr. Leclerc.

    Photo Agence QMI, Maxime Deland

    Pascal Leclerc

    A few seconds later, he said that he feared the worst seeing another truck coming towards him. “But he finished by stopping 30 feet from me, after having made a bet in the portfolio. “

    The heavy weight is thus found perpendicular to the lanes of traffic and has acted as a barrier. “He protected us from other vehicles that came in the bunch,” explained Pascal Leclerc.

    – With the QMI Agency