A Quebec coroner has once again called on the province’s Transport Ministry to enhance Highway 50 following a head-on collision that occurred late last year. In a recently published report, Coroner Martine Lachance attributed the death of a 71-year-old Boisbriand man to an accident, faulting the highway’s absence of physical separation between opposing lanes. The incident took place towards the evening on Dec. 26, 2025, close to Brownsburg-Chatham in the western Laurentians.
The deceased was a passenger in a vehicle heading west on Highway 50, also known as Autoroute Guy-Lafleur. According to the coroner’s findings, the driver was traveling at 111 km/h in a 100 km/h zone when she was momentarily blinded by the headlights of an approaching truck. This led to a loss of control, causing the car to collide with the right-side guardrail before crossing into the eastbound lane where it was struck by a van on the passenger side.
The report highlighted that the weather and road conditions did not contribute to the crash, as the pavement was dry, visibility was good, and police inspections revealed no mechanical issues with the vehicle. The absence of a central median or guardrail was identified as a key factor that could have prevented the vehicle from veering into oncoming traffic, as per the coroner’s assessment.
Earlier this year, two coroners released reports on nine other fatalities resulting from accidents on Highway 50, emphasizing the risks associated with its continuous road design. While some sections of the route have seen improvements, Lachance urged immediate action to enhance safety by installing median guardrails to separate traffic in both directions. The coroner also stressed the importance of expediting planned widening projects to convert the road into four lanes, emphasizing that these measures are crucial in preventing further severe injuries and deaths.