Death of a child on the A-15: one driver encroached on the track, another was distracted by his cell charger

A stopped vehicle encroaching on a lane of Highway 15 and a driver distracted by his cell phone charger contributed to the death of a 7-year-old boy last year, the coroner’s investigation reveals.

• Also read: 7-year-old child died in an accident on the A-15: his mother impatiently awaits answers from the authorities

• Also read: Child dies in collision l’highway 15

“All the circumstances surrounding this death, the investigation report and the testimonies demonstrate that this accident was caused by human factors,” indicates Mr.^e Denyse Langelier.

His findings on the circumstances of Evan Dalcourt’s death have just been revealed.

The little man was in the back seat of his father’s Mercedes when he died almost a year ago, in November 2023.

The driver had stopped on the left side of the highway, near Sainte-Adèle, in the Laurentians, to see if there was a mechanical problem. He had “heard a noise under his vehicle”.

“The data collected shows that the Mercedes encroaches 25 cm into the south lane on the left side of the highway in a lane measuring 3.49 meters,” writes M^e Langelier.

The father was then seen by witnesses traveling on foot in the shoulder.

He was looking at his charger

Meanwhile, a man driving a Chevrolet Silverado took his eyes off the road for a few moments to check if his cell phone charger was working.

He suddenly saw the Mercedes and its driver and tried to brake, but it was too late.

Its speed is estimated at 130 km/h at the time of impact, which gave Evan no chance.

Infrastructure, visibility or even signage are not at issue in this matter, says the report.

The Mercedes in which Evan died had no defects, according to an inspection limited to collision damage. It is not known whether the flashing lights were in use during the tragedy.

Note that the Sûreté du Québec has filed an investigation report for dangerous driving and criminal negligence causing death with the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).

However, no charges have been filed.

Left hungry

Evan’s mother says she was “really surprised” by this decision from the DPCP.

“That [les autorités] say, is that there is no concrete proof that it is negligence. But for me, just the fact that he is [dans l’accotement de gauche]it’s negligence,” says Fannie Lachance-Dalcourt.

The one who laments not knowing concretely what pushed the victim’s father to stop is still recovering from Evan’s death.

“Me and my son were extremely close,” she confides. I live my life. I work, I go to school, but it’s extremely difficult.”

Coroner Langelier submitted two recommendations to the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec.

One concerns cell phone prevention while driving. The other concerns the integration of campaigns on the safe immobilization of a vehicle in the event of an emergency.

– With Jonathan Tremblay