A man drowned early Monday after the car he was riding in crashed into a ditch filled with water in the Centre-du-Quebec region.
Around 4:45 a.m., the car was traveling on route 261 near Maddington when its driver lost control of the vehicle. The car rolled several times before landing on its roof in a ditch by the side of the road.
Police say the passenger was trapped in his seat, with his head submerged. Although an autopsy will be performed later in the week, a preliminary investigation suggests the man drowned in a large puddle of water that lined the bottom of the ditch.
When first responders arrived at the scene, the driver was nowhere to be found. It’s unknown why the man fled.
“We’ll find (the driver), we’ll interrogate him and we’ll figure out why he left,” said Ronald McGinnis of the Sûreté du Québec.
The driver could face an array of criminal charges, McGinnis said.
Police would not say if they suspect alcohol was a factor in the accident.
