Police say Amqui, Que., crash was deliberate, victims chosen at random

The driver of a pickup truck that slammed into a group of pedestrians in Amqui, Que. on Monday afternoon did so intentionally and chose his victims at random, the police said.

Provincial police have identified Steeve Gagnon, 38, an Amqui resident, as the driver.

He turned himself in after the fact. He has been arrested and is expected to be charged later today.

Gérald Charest, 65, and Jean Lafrenière, 73, were killed and nine others were injured in the incident.

Claude Doiron, a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), Quebec's provincial police force, said investigators believe Gagnon planned the act and did it deliberately, but chose his victims at random. Officers are treating the incident as a murder investigation, Doiron said.

Gagnon is cooperating with investigators, he added. 

Of the nine surviving victims, three suffered serious injuries and are in critical condition and six others were being evaluated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the SQ. Six victims, including a baby and a toddler, were transferred by plane to the Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus trauma unit in Quebec City. The baby and toddler are in stable condition, the CHU de Québec confirmed. Three adults remain in critical condition.  One victim is under observation at the Amqui hospital. 

The Bas-Saint-Laurent Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS) says it has deployed 10 psychosocial workers to help the relatives of the victims.

Witnesses described how, shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday, a pickup truck accelerated down the sidewalk in front of the Captive microbrewery on Saint-Benoît Boulevard. 

Ken Moreau, an Amqui resident, was walking on the sidewalk at the time and heard a loud noise behind him. 

He turned and saw a pickup truck heading straight for him, accelerating, he said, as it raced down the sidewalk. 

"I saw everything. I was just in front of the first people who were hit," he said. 

Moreau managed to dive behind a lamppost, but others weren't able to react as quickly. 

"I just had the time to jump to safety, and he smashed everyone who was on the sidewalk," he said. "People didn't have time. The man right in front of me didn't have a chance. We turned at the same time, both of us, and he was hit. I think that man died.