MONTREAL -- A community is reeling from a “senseless” hit-and-run allegedly involving a stolen car that killed a 79-year-old woman Tuesday in Montreal’s east end.
Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating the crash, which happened during a Montreal police traffic radar operation in the Riviere-des-Prairies borough of Montreal.
The driver of the car was a 17-year-old girl with a teenage male in the passenger seat, police said Wednesday.
A police officer signalled for the driver to stop, but the driver, seen in a white hatchback, kept driving, according to a statement from the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), which investigates police-involved incidents that end in injury or death.
The officer began pursuing the vehicle and the driver lost control, striking a pedestrian on Rita Levi Montalcini Avenue.
The victim was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A family friend who asked not to be identified said she was devastated by the news.
“I’m still completely heartbroken because it’s a profound loss. She was always such a positive person, always smiling,” she told CTV News Wednesday.
“Thinking of her, I just see that beautiful smile.”
A makeshift memorial with flowers and messages of support was set up at the site of a hit-and-run that killed a 79-year-old woman in Riviere-des-Prairies on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Matt Grillo/CTV Montreal
She said the loss has affected her personally because the victim was close with her own family and helped out any way she could.
“Every Sunday she would go to church and bring back the bulletin for my grandmother, who is 95 years old, who can’t go to mass for mobility reasons. (The victim) would go that extra mile all the time, to drop it off for her, to check in on her and see how she was doing,” the woman said.
“It’s a senseless way to die.”
DRIVER WAS 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL: POLICE
The BEI said the driver of the vehicle fled on foot and police officers later found that the vehicle had been reported stolen.
Two people were arrested and charged on Wednesday, said Quebec provincial police in an update around 6 p.m.
The driver was a 17-year-old girl, and one passenger was a 19-year-old man. Police are still searching for a third suspect, said a spokesperson from the Sûreté du Quebec.
The driver was charged with dangerous driving causing death, fleeing, criminal neglicence, and failure to render assistance to the victim.
The passenger was charged with dangerous driving causing death and aiding and abetting a criminal act.
Both are being held in custody for now, police said. They're not being identified by name at the moment.
Police couldn't provide any information about the reportedly stolen car. But investigators said earlier that they're also searching the vehicle to uncover more details about the incident.
Locals said they were shaken by the randomness of the crime.
“It was scary,” one resident told CTV News. “I have two kids.”
“This poor lady was just walking down the street and got hit by a car.”
Watch the video below for a view of the scene
