A Quebec coroner has reiterated the call for improvements to Highway 50 by the province’s Transport Ministry following a head-on crash late last year. In a recently published report, Coroner Martine Lachance attributed the death of a 71-year-old Boisbriand man to the highway’s lack of physical separation between opposing lanes.
The incident occurred on Dec. 26, 2025, near Brownsburg-Chatham in the western Laurentians. The victim was a passenger in a vehicle travelling west on Highway 50, also known as Autoroute Guy-Lafleur. According to the coroner’s findings, the driver was going 111 km/h in a 100 km/h zone and was blinded by an oncoming truck’s headlights, leading to a loss of control.
The vehicle hit the right-side guardrail, crossed into the eastbound lane, and was struck on the passenger side by a van. Weather and road conditions were not factors in the crash, with dry pavement and good visibility. The absence of a central median or guardrail allowed the vehicle to veer into oncoming traffic, as highlighted by the coroner.
Earlier this year, two coroners highlighted nine other fatalities from collisions on Highway 50, underscoring the risks posed by its continuous design. While some sections have been upgraded, Lachance’s report called for immediate action to enhance safety, including installing median guardrails and advancing widening projects to convert the road to four lanes. These measures are seen as essential to prevent further tragedies on the highway.