MONTREAL – Police in Plessisville are still trying to figure out how one man was involved in two car crashes that killed four and injured four others in a 10-minute span Monday afternoon.
It will probably take several weeks to determine the motive behind the crash, but witnesses say the man who was responsible for the deaths, including his own, acted deliberately.
Police say a 39-year-old man was driving a grey minivan with his 4-year-old son riding inside. The man was seen by witnesses driving erratically on Highway 165 southbound just before the accident occurred about 1:50 p.m. The minivan crashed into a Honda Civic, driving in the same direction, and rammed it off the road. The passengers, a man and a boy, were declared dead in a hospital soon afterward, while two other passengers were sent to a hospital with serious injuries.
It’s believed the man then got into a dark-coloured Dodge Dakota pickup truck that was being driven by his former common-law wife, who arrived on the scene of the accident several minutes later. He drove south with his son for another four kilometres to the town of St. Ferdinand, where he rammed into another pickup truck, a grey Chevrolet Silverado, which was towing a trailer and a boat.
In that accident, the driver of the pickup truck and his son were killed. The passengers of the Silverado were sent to a hospital to be treated for shock
this was listed as breaking News
2 comments:
Totally agree - these nut cases are free to do away with themselves but to take innocent lives is just unthinkable! Not just the other families either - sometimes these bobes leave behind good family that have to live with that the rest of their lives - and whey should they?
This story has been updated.
MONTREAL – A 39-year-old man who police say caused two road crashes that killed four people, including himself and his 4-year-old boy, felt deeply rejected by his ex-fiancé but vowed recently on Facebook "to go forward for the kids, even if half of me is missing."
If his writings on the social networking website are any indication, Denis Philippon, of Boisbriand, may still have been reeling from a split with his ex-fiancé about a month ago when he was seen driving erratically Monday afternoon before the collisions on Highway 165 southbound in Plessisville, about 180 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Martine Isabelle said Tuesday Philippon may well have been suicidal but only a full investigation, which could take weeks, will reveal the exact causes of the crashes.
"A voluntary gesture on his part is quite possible," Isabelle said. She would not confirm media reports that a suicide letter was found near the second crash scene.
“There are still many elements to check out and many hypotheses to verify as well,” said Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Éloise Cossette Monday. “Was it a voluntary act by the driver? That’s what it seems like at the outset.”
Cossette said Philippon was driving a grey minivan with his son, Thomas, riding inside, when he was seen by witnesses driving erratically just before the accident occurred about 1:50 p.m.
The minivan crashed into a Honda Civic, which was driving in the same direction, and rammed it off the road. Four people were riding in that car.
Two victims, Alexandre Fleury, 14, and his brother, Sébastien, 25, from St. Joseph du Lac, were pronounced dead in a hospital. Two women who were also riding in the car were treated for injuries, but are expected to survive.
A few minutes after the first accident, Philippon’s former ex-fiancé arrived on the scene, driving a dark-coloured Dodge Dakota pickup truck. He took his son and got into the pickup truck, leaving his ex-wife behind, and drove south another four kilometres down the same route to the town of St. Ferdinand, where he rammed into another pickup truck, a grey Chevrolet Silverado, which was towing a trailer and a boat.
Philippon and his son were taken to a hospital, where they were declared dead. The passengers of the Silverado were sent to a hospital to be treated for shock. There was extensive damage to the trailer and the boat, and their debris littered the highway.
Cossette said it was unclear why the man’s ex-fiancé was following behind. She will be questioned by police in the coming days.
Philippon reportedly left his home in Boisbriand about three weeks ago and went to the Plessisville area. His ex-fiancé arrived at the first crash scene and then followed Philippon in another vehicle to the second crash that killed her son, reports said.
In several exchanges with friends on Facebook April 27 and April 28, Philippon bemoaned his break-up with his former fiancé.
"I don't understand it at all," Philippon wrote. "What can I do? No chance to talk about it; her decision was already made."
The following day Philippon wrote that "I will fight for my kids. When you make children, I think it's for life." -hf&rv
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