Wild weather causes 1,250 road accidents across Quebec, dumps 40 centimetres of snow

MONTREAL – Quebecers woke up Saturday to a massive snowfall that helped trigger more than 1,200 road accidents across the province, including a 70-car pileup east of Montreal that closed part of a major highway.

Up to 40 centimetres of snow covered an area stretching from the Ottawa border through the St-Lawrence Valley and up to the province's Gaspesie peninsula. Authorities said no deaths had been reported.

Acting Minister of Public Security, Andree Laforest, said Friday night that the heavy snow and strong winds caused at least 1,250 road incidents across the affected area of the province, including a 70-car pileup in St-Hyacinthe that involved a provincial police vehicle.

The multi-car collision, about 60 kilometres east of Montreal, injured three but none seriously. It also led to the complete closure of Highway 20 towards the west.

Environment Canada said Friday's storm was the biggest of the winter season in southern Quebec.

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Carli Berry

Carli Berry has been telling stories in the Okanagan for the past three years and after finding her footing in the newspaper industry, joined the Infonews team in January 2020. Recipient of the 2019 MA Murray award for feature writing, Carli is passionate about stories that involve housing, business and the environment. Born on Vancouver Island, she is happy to say Okanagan Lake reminds, her slightly, of the ocean. Carli can be reached at (250) 864-7494 or email cberry@infonews.ca.