2 construction site workers injured, 1 critically, in Montreal hit-and-run

A 39-year-old man is in critical conditionafter being struck by a hit-and-run driver, who witnesses say plowed through a constructionsite in the Rivire-des-PrairiesPointe-aux-Trembles borough Wednesday night.

The victim is one of two site installers who were injured in the crash, which happened around 10:20 p.m. at St-Jean-Baptiste and Industriel boulevards.

Witnesses say thedriver fled the scene afterforcing their vehicle throughthe construction site and hitting the workers. The second worker, also 39, suffered minor injuries.

The province's workplace safety board, the CNESST, announced late Thursday afternoon that it has shut down the site until the construction company can guarantee the safety of its workers there. The CNESST has also opened an investigation into the hit and run.

In a tweet Thursday morning, Montreal Mayor Valrie Plantesaid her thoughts go out to the victims and she denounced an apparentlack of regard for their safety.

"The construction workers on our roads do important work in conditions that are not always easy. Impatience or recklessness towardthem has no place and they deserve our full respect, no matter the detours required," she wrote.

Montreal police are also investigatingand are still searching for the driver.