A Quebec coroner has reiterated the need for the province’s Transport Ministry to enhance Highway 50 following a head-on crash late last year. In a recently published report, Coroner Martine Lachance attributed the death of a 71-year-old man from Boisbriand to an accident, placing the responsibility on the absence of physical separation between lanes on the highway.
The incident took place in the evening on December 26, 2025, near Brownsburg-Chatham in the western Laurentians region. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle heading west on Highway 50, also known as Autoroute Guy-Lafleur.
As per the coroner’s findings, the driver was speeding at 111 km/h in a 100 km/h zone when she was dazzled by the lights of an approaching truck. This caused her to lose control of the car, hit the right-side guardrail, and veer into the eastbound lane, where a van collided with the passenger side.
The report ruled out weather and road conditions as factors in the accident, stating that the road was dry, visibility was good, and no mechanical issues were found with the vehicle during police inspections. The coroner highlighted the lack of a central median or guardrail that could have prevented the vehicle from entering oncoming traffic.
In a separate development, earlier this year, two coroners highlighted nine additional fatalities from accidents on Highway 50, underscoring the risks associated with its undivided road layout. While some sections of the highway have seen improvements, Coroner Lachance urged immediate action to enhance safety by installing median guardrails to separate traffic in both directions.
Furthermore, the coroner recommended expediting planned widening projects to convert the road into four lanes, emphasizing the importance of these measures in averting future severe injuries and deaths on the highway.