The exact causes of Wednesday's spectacular crash on Highway 40 East have yet to be determined but a spokesperson for the Surete du Quebec said criminal charges are a possibility.
“If there are criminal accusations that could be brought, they will be brought," said SQ spokesperson Daniel Thibodeau. "These are major incidents that tie up traffic and have a huge human toll. There are people that were not able to get to work, there’s people that missed appointments, there are health concerns.”
According to Thibodeau, the investigation is looking into whether negligence or human error may have contributed to the crash. If criminal charges aren't filed, there may still be the possibility of hefty fines, he said.
No one was injured in the crash, which saw a tractor-trailer loaded with corn slamming into a pedestrian bridge at high speed in Repentigny at 11:30 a.m. with the back-end dumper raised.
"At this point, (we're investigating whether) the signals were functional, was there something wrong with the hydraulics, did something not work or was something accidentally deployed or ignored?" said Thibodeau. "These are the elements we're looking at and it could lead to criminal charges."
The Surete du Quebec said it was able to determine that the truck was travelling with its bin lifted for at least one kilometre and had a near-miss with a previous overpass.
“The first overpass was a close call. It was starting to rise at that point, but it did not make a contact. The truck continued and slowly the bed raised to the point to full deployment where it impacted the second overpass,” said Thibodeau.
A nearby driver caught the crash on video and posted it online, where it soon went viral. Thibodeau warned other drivers against filming while driving, urging those on the road to call 911 if they see something dangerous.
It happened near the exit at Brien Blvd., forcing officials to set up a detour in the area. Emergency services had to scramble to pick up debris on the highway.
On Thursday, Transport Quebec said the pedestrian overpass was dismantled overnight due to the severity of the damage.
“Engineers investigated the structure and then the decision was made to dismantle the structure on the 40 east because it was not safe,” said Martin Girard of Transport Quebec.
The highway in the area has been closed down as cleanup efforts continue, though officials said they hoped it would be completed by the end of the day.
Thibodeau said police had interviewed witnesses. While some drivers tried to warn the trucker, they were unable to do so in time.
"The distance was really short, we're talking about highway speeds," said Thibodeau. "It took a matter of seconds before the impact actually occurred."
In February 2015, an almost identical crash took place on Route 132 in Longueuil, once again involving a pedestrian bridge. Yet another incident damaged the superstructure on the Mercier Bridge in 2016.
Truckers say there's a two-step mechanism that's supposed to prevent dumper bins from accidentally going up.
The Transport Ministry says the new Quebec Highway Code will force truckers to have a signal light on the dash, indicating if the bin is up or down.
