OTTAWA, March 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two men were killed in Canada and nine other pedestrians were injured when they were hit by a truck on Monday, police said.
Quebec police spokeswoman Helene St Pierre said a 38-year-old man has been arrested and investigators are looking into whether he ran people over on purpose in the town of Amqui, north of Quebec City.
“Everything indicates that this is an isolated event,” she said. “There is no more danger in the area and only one suspect.”
The incident occurred shortly after 3 pm in Amqui’s downtown. Two of the injured are in serious condition.
Witnesses told local media a truck hit several people on a sidewalk, then continued for another 400 to 500 meters along the road, striking more people.
The two deceased are in their 60s and 70s, respectively. Three children are also among the injured, police said.
St-Pierre said the driver fled the scene but later turned himself in at a nearby police station.
“My heart is with the people of Amqui, Quebec today,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter message.
“As we learn more about the tragic events that have taken place, I’m keeping everyone affected in my thoughts.”
The incident came a month after a bus crashed into a day care center in a Montreal suburb, killing two four-year-old children and leaving six more injured in what police believe was a deliberate act.
Witnesses who tried to subdue the 51-year-old driver after the crash said he was acting erratically, including removing all his clothes.
In 2018, a Canadian man rammed a rental van into a crowd of pedestrians in downtown Toronto, killing 11 and injuring 16 in the deadliest such attack in Canada’s history.
That driver, who was 25 years old at the time of the attack, was sentenced in July 2022 to life in prison. — NNN-AGENCIES
