Fatal collision in Mont-Joli: the sidewalks were impassable, denounces the family of the deceased

The 35-year-old man who lost his life after being hit by a heavy truck in Mont-Joli last week was forced to walk in the street because the sidewalks were not cleared of snow, his family denounces. The mayor assures, for his part, that the City has nothing to reproach itself for.

• Also read: A pedestrian fatally struck by a vehicle in Bas-Saint-Laurent

Jonathan Lévesque, suffering from dysphasia and partial deafness, was fatally struck on Boulevard Benoît-Gaboury on the evening of January 9.

The 35-year-old man was returning home on foot around 10 p.m. after visiting his partner. With no news from him and after hearing police sirens, the police contacted the victim’s parents to make sure he was well.

While following the usual route taken by her son, Mr. Lévesque’s mother then came face to face with the emergency services who informed her of his death.

“It’s when tragedies like this happen that you realize that your heart is still clinging to your boy after all these years. I am devastated…”, sighs Alain Lévesque, the victim’s father, stifling a sob.

An “unforgivable” situation

That evening, Jonathan Lévesque was walking in a corridor to the right of the roadway, heading north. But as the snow that had fallen the day before had not been removed and had frozen, he had no choice but to enter the street.

Shortly after, a semi-trailer traveling in the same direction struck him, killing him instantly.

“The next morning, I saw the mark of his big foot on the button between the road and the sidewalk. Because of his disability, he had trouble with his balance, he could not walk on uneven terrain,” explains his father.

According to the Sûreté du Québec, no criminal act is involved. But although it cannot establish that this is a contributing factor at the moment, the police force confirms the presence of snow on the sidewalks at the time of the tragedy.

“If the City had done its job, my son would still be here. It’s unforgivable!” complains Mr. Lévesque.

Nothing to complain about?

For his part, the mayor of the municipality, Martin Soucy, affirms that the City has nothing to reproach itself for.

“Have we failed in our duties? No. Public works provided me with reports confirming that our sidewalks had been cleared of snow,” he said in an interview with The Journal.

However, photos taken by relatives the night of the tragedy and the next morning prove that the pedestrian spaces on both sides of the road were impassable.

Data recorded by Environment Canada also shows that there was no precipitation between 11 a.m. on January 9 and 11 p.m. on January 13.

No snow could therefore have accumulated on the ground after the passage of a snowplow on the day of the tragedy.

A “false sidewalk”

Mr. Soucy specifies, however, that the pedestrian space used by the victim, the one along the road, heading north, is never cleared of snow since there is no sidewalk to speak of.

And this, even if hundreds of people, including students who go to the nearby Mistral school, use it every day.

“We are going to make a request to the Ministry of Transport to have a real sidewalk, we will not wait until there is another tragedy. […] We will adjust quickly,” he says.

The day after the sad event, the City ordered that both sides of the road be cleared of snow.

Tough start to the year for pedestrians

• January 7, 2025: Rosaire Pelletier, 80, was fatally struck by a car on Chemin Sainte-Foy, in Quebec, at noon.
• January 7, 2025: A 40-year-old pedestrian died in Montreal after an accident involving a semi-trailer truck, at the corner of 1^re Avenue and Montreal-Toronto Boulevard, around 6 p.m.
• January 7, 2025: Yunes Giri, 29, was struck to death while trying to get help moving his minivan, which got stuck at the bottom of 3^e Rang Nord, in Saint-Malachie, around 8:15 p.m.
• January 9, 2025: Jonathan Lévesque, 35, was crushed to death by a semi-trailer truck which was traveling in the same direction as him, around 10 p.m., on Benoit-Gaboury Boulevard, in Mont-Joli.
• January 9, 2025: A woman hit at the corner of Kirouac and Marie-de-l’Incarnation streets, in Quebec, left significant damage to the windshield of a car. She escaped without serious injuries.
• January 9, 2025: A vehicle hit a 6-year-old boy in Sainte-Marie, in Beauce. Although he suffered significant injuries, there is no fear for his life.
• January 11, 2025: A 77-year-old man who was putting his grocery bags in his vehicle was hit hard in the parking lot of a Super C in Charlesbourg. Resuscitation maneuvers were necessary.