The motorist who collided head-on with a truck while attempting to pass illegally on the right in Sainte-Croix last July was traveling at 220 km/h and was intoxicated, according to the coroner’s report published Tuesday.
• Also read: Motorist killed by hitting him at 200 km/h: “Every time I pass here, I see his tank all destroyed”
• Also read: Fatal accident in Sainte-Croix: the victim had just started walking again after years of suffering
• Also read: Fatal collision between a car and a truck in Chaudière-Appalaches
Tobie Dubois-Pouliot, 36, died on July 14, 2024 after a violent collision with a heavy goods vehicle on Route 271 near Sainte-Croix, in Lotbinière.
In the weeks that followed, the truck driver involved in the accident, Stéphane Laroche, told Journal that the thirty-year-old “arrived at at least 200 km/h”.
In his report, coroner Donald Nicole confirms this thesis: the speedometer needle of the blue Mazda 3 remained stuck at 220 km/h.
Photos Guy Martel
Remember that the violence of the impact was such that the damage caused to Mr. Laroche’s semi-trailer amounted to more than $60,000.
The damage caused to Mr. Laroche’s truck is impressive. He claims that even the chassis of the truck was twisted by the impact.
Photo Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens
“It’s completely crazy. I never had time to do anything to avoid it. He was arriving so fast that my truck was packed towards the middle of the road and the chassis was twisted,” recalls the owner of Équipement S. Laroche, an agricultural equipment company, on the other end of the phone.
According to the coroner, the police investigation determined that Tobie Dubois-Pouliot was late for work on that fateful sunny Sunday morning. This is the reason that could explain his excessive speed.
When Tobie Dubois-Pouliot’s vehicle was loaded onto the trailer, there was no longer any engine in the chassis and the speedometer showed 220 km/h.
Photo provided by Stéphane Laroche
Drinking and driving
The toxicological analysis carried out on the remains of the 36-year-old man concluded that he had more than twice the legal alcohol limit in his blood at the time of the collision, which occurred around 7 a.m.
Made aware of this new element, Stéphane Laroche said he was sorry, but not surprised.
“In the days following the accident, I spoke with his loved ones. They told me that Tobie had drinking problems for years,” says the man who will never forget the sound of the impact and the vision of the car engine flying tens of meters down a path that he borrows every day between his business and his farm.
Stéphane Laroche admits to having goosebumps when he passes near the scene of the accident as part of his work.
Photo Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens
The coroner emphasizes in his analysis that the medical file of the deceased driver indicates that he suffered from “chronic alcohol-related disorders”.
Accidental
Me Nicole explains that only a series of braking marks, those of the truck, were visible on the road. This means that Tobie Dubois Pouliot has never slowed down his pace. The expert, however, maintains that the victim died of accidental causes.
“According to those close to him, Mr. Dubois-Pouliot was well and had been taking over-the-counter medication for sleep problems for several days, but had never made suicidal comments,” he wrote.
Tobie Dubois-Pouliot and Danny Blanchet had been friends for more than twenty years, since their late teens.
Photo provided by Danny Blanchet
In the days following the tragedy, a longtime friend, Danny Blanchet, argued that the man who would have been 37 in October “had started living normally again and walking after his hip operation” a few months before his death, thus ruling out the theory of suicide.
Do you have any information to share with us about this story?
Write to us at or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.
