Fatal crash in Chateauguay

The driver that hit and killed a pedestrian in Chateauguay this week is from Kahnawake, The Eastern Door has learned.

The driver had been on his way to work that morning when he crashed his truck, a work vehicle carrying hedge and shrub trimming supplies. There were no other passengers in the truck at the time.

According to Chateauguay’s police service, the 49-year-old was driving east along Anjou Boulevard early Monday morning when he unexpectedly deviated from his lane, hitting two lamp posts and a man in his 50s.

Many locals from Chateauguay have taken to social media since to share their condolences and photos of the victim, Matthew Lamarre. He often panhandled around the Super C, accepting Tim Hortons and McDonald’s gift cards from those in the area who knew him.

Tara Pattullo, the manager at the Tims across the street, was working that morning. She saw some dust in the air around the parking lot across from the Tims, but didn’t think anything of it, until she went out for a quick drive and was stopped by a police officer. It wasn’t long before she found out it was Lamarre that had been hurt.

“A lot of people came in very emotional. A couple cried,” Pattullo said.

“He’s been coming to the Tims every morning for as far as I can remember,” she said. “He was here day in and day out.”

He got along well with the other regulars there, she said.

“He would sit there at one particular table most of the time, enjoying the view outside and just enjoying life,” Pattullo said.  “They didn’t judge him, and I think that’s what kept bringing him back here, because they were so friendly with him.”

A bundle of flowers has since been left in his memory by the Super C parking lot where the accident happened.

“He was a very spirited person, down to earth, carefree, very polite, happy,” Pattullo said. “He was just a very kind man.”

The Eastern Door reached out to the driver involved in the accident, but didn’t hear back in time of publication.

Chateauguay’s police service was called about the incident around 6:40 a.m. that morning, said Erika Grondin, a spokesperson for the police force. Some cars in the parking lot near Bell Street were also hit by the driver, who was rushed to hospital soon after, she said. 

Police are still piecing together what led him to veer out of his lane.

“The case is still under investigation,” said Grondin. “We don’t know if it was voluntary, or if he lost consciousness.”

The police service hasn’t laid any charges against the man.

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