MONTREAL - A spectacular traffic accident took place Friday morning on Highway 132 East at the exit of the Champlain Bridge when a large tanker truck overturned and several cars rammed into it.
Police say they are looking for a grey vehicle that may have caused the crash.
Witnesses say the car was getting off at the exit for the Champlain Bridge at around 8:30 a.m., but at the last second swerved back onto the highway.
The tanker truck lost control, hitting the median before tipping over onto another car.
Four other vehicles were involved.
Witnesses say the driver of the grey car never stopped, and if he's found, he could be charged with hit and run causing injuries.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the SQ's tip line at 1-800-659-4264
One car was stuck under the tanker truck but the victim was conscious when rescuers came to his aid.
The jaws of life were employed to help dislodge the man stuck inside a car. It took over an hour to free him.
Jason Pouliot was one of the first to arrive at the car after the accident, and he smashed the window with a hammer so he could speak with the driver.
What he heard suggested urgent measures were required.
"I think my legs are broken and I can't get my seatbelt undone," Pouliot says the man told him. "That's when I started yelling at people to get me something of a knife, anything sharp to cut the seat belt."
The incident took place at 8:25 a.m. Three minor injuries were reported. The truck driver was transported to hospital. The man stuck in the car suffered injuries that are considered more serious, but his life is not in danger.
Traffic on the 132 East was backed up for kilometres, the highway blocked off just before the exit for the bridge.
On a clear day and on a dry road, an accident this serious serves as a reminder to leave enough braking distance with the car in front.
"Even if it's in good time or in bad weather, we have to look very far in front of us to see other drivers," said Sgt. Claude Denis of the Sureté du Québec.
