Quebec road fatalities pile up over long weekend

Quebec roads have been particularly deadly over the Victoria Day long weekend.

The most recent incidents happened around the same time on Sunday afternoon.

In Quebec City, a motorcycle carrying two people went off-road after the driver lost control, said Mlanie Dumaresq with the provincial police service.

The motorcycle was travelling northbound on the Laurentian Highway when it hit a cement median and then an overpass at full speed. The passenger, a woman in her 40s, was pronounced dead in hospital. The driver was treated for shock.

In the Outaouais region a young man in his 20s died in a head-on collision in L'Ange-Gardien.

According to the Sret du Qubec, a car carrying three people drifted into an opposite lane and hit the victim's vehicle. The crash happened on a part of the road where passing is prohibited.

Police are investigating.

Another crash on Sunday afternoon, this time in Laval on Highway 440, killed a motorcyclist after the driver hit a post.

Earlier on Sunday, also on Highway 440 in Laval, a three-car crash involving a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction, resulted in non-life-threatening injuries and two drivers being arrested for impaired driving.

Also on Sunday morning, a violent car crash in Ste-Adle ejected a man from his vehicle. The man was gravely injured and died on Monday morning. Apassenger in the car received less seriousinjuries.

Crashes in St-Hippolyte and Brownsburg-Chatham, in the Laurentians, also happened overnight from Friday to Saturday.

Crashes on Quebec roads are unfortunately common during long weekends, particularly the May holiday, according to police.The SQ and other police forces said they would be intensifying road surveillance as a result.

Speeding is the number-one cause of deadly crashes in Quebec.

Last year 27 people died in motorcycle crashes, making up about 12 per cent of road fatalities.