Cree community grieving after five people killed in collision in rural Quebec

The Cree community of Waswanipi, Que., is in mourning after five people died in a collision between a pickup truck and a van in the rural town of Chapais on Thursday.

The crash roughly 475 kilometres north of Montreal killed all four occupants of a van belonging to a Cree organization, as well as the driver of the pickup truck.

Chief Irene Neeposh says the loss of four members of the Cree Nation of Waswanipi has left the community in shock and disbelief.

She says the community will enter four days of mourning in honour of the victims.

Quebec provincial police say the five people killed are four men, ages 45, 47, 63 and 69, and one woman, age 60.

Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu says preliminary information suggests the pickup truck entered the wrong lane on Highway 113 and drove head-on into the van, which then caught fire.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2024.