The incident happened just after 3 p.m. in Amqui, Quebec, about 64 miles northeast of Montreal, according to police.
Police spokeswoman Hélène St-Pierre states that at least nine others are injured, and that the condition is serious or life-threatening for two of them. The driver, a 38-year-old man, initially fled the scene, but later surrendered to the police, writes CBC. He is from the area.
According to St-Pierre, the dead are two men in their 60s and 70s.
Trudeau reacts
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweets that his heart goes out to the people of Amqui.
– While we learn more about the tragic events that have taken place, I think of all those affected, he writes. He also thanks the emergency services for acting “quickly, with courage and professionalism”.
The health authorities have sent psychological support to the scene because many are in shock, according to spokesperson Gilles Turmel.
Not terror
A high-ranking official in the government with knowledge of the case tells AP that the incident is not terror-related or affects national security. The authorities have not said anything about any possible motive behind the collisions.
St-Pierre says that investigators and accident experts are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the collisions.
– Everything indicates that this was an isolated incident, that there is no danger in the area and that there is only one suspect, says St-Pierre.
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More events
The incident takes place just over a month after a bus drove into a kindergarten in the Montreal suburb of Laval. Two children lost their lives, and the police believe it was a deliberate act.
Canada has been the scene of several ugly mass collisions. In 2021, a man used a pickup truck to kill four members of a Muslim family in the city of London in the province of Ontario. Trudeau described the attack as a terrorist attack targeting Muslims.
In 2018, a man drove into a crowd in Toronto, killing ten people. A further 16 were injured. The perpetrator, who was convicted of ten murders and 16 attempted murders, is a self-proclaimed misogynist and was inspired by the so-called Incel movement.
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