MONTREAL - A 42-year-old woman remains on life support after being hit by a 76-year-old woman in an apparent drunk-driving hit-and-run incident Friday evening.

It is not known whether the victim, whose name is Suzanne, will survive the injuries she incurred after the elderly woman allegedly drove through a red light at Parc and St. Joseph at 11 p.m. Friday.

The woman continued driving for about 10 minutes before being apprehended about three kilometers east at Belanger and St-Valliers St.

She will face charges relating to driving-under-the-influence of alcohol. If the victim dies, that charge will be increased to include hit-and-run causing death, according to a Montreal police representative. 

The victim is said to be a 42-year-old cancer survivor named Suzanne.

Friends said that she had spread a lot of joy since overcoming her illness.

Prior to being hit, Suzanne had been visiting with friends at the nearby L’Autre Bar on Laurier where a bar employee described her in glowing terms.

“She was always an exceptional person,” said Josee Vaillancourt. “Always ready to help others, always smiling and never in a bad mood.”

One expert on drunk driving said that such incidents are often not caused by inveterate drinkers.

“The majority of road accidents caused by drunk drivers are due to people like you and I who just forget themselves once in a while and drive under the influence and create problems,” said Hubert Sacy of Educ’alcool.

He said that nobody should flirt with the limit when getting behind the wheel.

“Even though the law says .08, you'd better be always on the safer side of the thing and preferably don't drink at all,” he said. “And if you should drink be extremely vigilant because you always underestimate the level of alcohol that is in your blood.”