MONTREAL - Traffic in and around Montreal was very heavy Friday morning because of three separate and unrelated collisions.
The first pre-dawn crash happened on Highway 40 westbound, near Highway 13 around 4:40 a.m.
A cube van rammed a car that had stalled and stopped in the right-hand lane, sending the car across the highway and into the median.
The driver of the car, a man in his forties, died on the scene from his injuries.
That section of Highway 40 was closed until 8 a.m. while police conducted their investigation, forcing drivers onto the service road.
Eastbound traffic was unaffected until drivers slowing down to look at the investigation had a three-car collision.
"It was actually something major, with injuries," Transport Quebec's Caroline Larose said.
Cleaning up that crash caused more lengthy delays.
"Two lanes were closed because of this accident for two hours, adding to the traffic already complicated in the morning."
Rubbernecking is always a bad idea, and drivers are being reminded to pay attention to the road in front of them.
"People think I'm just going to have a quick wink and a look but you have to go against it and refrain from looking over," said Larose.
Meanwhile, 20 minutes later on the eastern tip of the island , two vehicles collided on Highway 40 near Highway 640.
One car rolled onto its roof and the driver was trapped inside.
The highway and Charles de Gaulle bridge had to be closed until emergency crews could extricate the driver and remove the wreckage.
The fourth crash happened on Highway 15 south in Laval, when several cars crashed into each other for reasons unknown.
One person suffered what authorities describe as minor injuries.
