A Quebec coroner is once again calling on the province’s Transport Ministry to enhance safety measures on Highway 50 following a head-on collision at the end of last year.
In a recently published report, Coroner Martine Lachance attributed the death of a 71-year-old Boisbriand man to an accident but pointed to the highway’s absence of physical separation between opposing lanes.
The incident took place in the late afternoon of Dec. 26, 2025, near Brownsburg-Chatham in the western Laurentians. The victim 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 dazzled by the lights of an oncoming truck. This caused her to lose control of the car, hit the right-side guardrail, and veer into the eastbound lane, where a van collided with the passenger side.
The report indicated that weather and road conditions were not factors in the crash, with dry pavement and good visibility. Police inspections revealed no mechanical issues with the vehicle.
Lack of a central median or guardrail was highlighted as a contributing factor to the vehicle crossing into oncoming traffic, according to the coroner.
Earlier this year, two coroners highlighted nine other fatalities resulting from accidents on Highway 50, emphasizing the risks posed by its continuous roadway design.
While upgrades have been implemented on certain sections of the highway, Lachance’s report urged immediate action to enhance safety by installing median guardrails to separate traffic going in opposite directions. Additionally, the coroner recommended expediting planned widening projects to convert the road into four lanes to prevent future severe injuries and deaths.