Adult, child remain in critical condition after deadly Quebec highway crash

One adult and one child remained in critical condition Monday, one day after a collision that killed a 13-year-old girl on Highway 20 in Saint-Zotique, Que.

Another adult and another child are still hospitalized, but in stable condition following the crash in Quebec's Montérégie region, according to an update from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) on Monday evening.

The major collision between a truck and a vehicle on Sunday morning initially left all five occupants of the vehicle seriously injured.

Emergency services were called to Highway 20 westbound around 10:45 a.m.

"The driver of a heavy truck was unable to stop in time to avoid the slowdown in traffic, and collided with an SUV," said SQ spokesperson Catherine Bernard on Sunday.

The two adults and three children in the vehicle were all seriously injured and taken to hospital.

An investigator and a police officer specializing in collision scene reconstruction were on the scene to establish the causes and circumstances surrounding the crash.

Part of Highway 20 was closed in both directions at 69th Avenue in Saint-Zotique on Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 3, 2023.