A Quebec coroner is once again calling on the province’s Transport Ministry to enhance Highway 50 after a head-on collision occurred late last year. In a recently published report, Coroner Martine Lachance attributed the death of a 71-year-old Boisbriand man to the absence of a physical barrier between opposing lanes on the highway.
The incident took place on Dec. 26, 2025, near Brownsburg-Chatham in the western Laurentians. 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 traveling at 111 km/h in a 100 km/h zone when she was dazzled by the headlights of an approaching truck. This led to the loss of vehicle control, striking the right-side guardrail and veering into the eastbound lane, where a van collided with the car on the passenger side.
Weather and road conditions were not deemed factors in the crash, with dry pavement and adequate visibility. Police inspections revealed no mechanical issues with the vehicle. The absence of a central median or guardrail was highlighted by the coroner as a significant factor that could have prevented the vehicle from entering oncoming traffic.
Earlier this year, two coroners released reports on nine other fatalities resulting from accidents on Highway 50, emphasizing the risks posed by its undivided road structure. While upgrades have been implemented in certain sections, Lachance urged immediate action to enhance safety by installing median guardrails to separate eastbound and westbound traffic. Additionally, she stressed the urgency of ongoing widening projects to transform the road into four lanes, emphasizing the importance of these measures in preventing further tragedies.
