A Hamilton family launches a lawsuit after a fatal wrong-way crash in Quebec

Carole Downer and her family were on their way home to Hamilton last year, when they were struck by a car going the wrong way on a highway near Montreal. Four people died, including Carole and now her family is suing for $4 million. They say the cause of the crash was poor road signage, which Quebec officials already knew was dangerous.

Vanessa Downer and her father Wellington remember every detail of the crash, April 11, 2017, shortly after midnight. Vanessa was driving the rented Ford Flex, her father and two sisters were in the back, her mother was in the passenger seat.

“I was talking to my mom and then out of nowhere she says, I think a car is coming towards us. Then I go to swerve into the shoulder and the other car did the same thing and we just collided.”

The two drivers had swerved the same direction and instead of avoiding each other, collided head on. The Downers ended up on top of the median. Vanessa says she turned to ask if everyone was ok, only her mom didn’t respond. Grandparents and a grandchild all died in the other vehicle.

“I was so angry. It never dawned on me that the sign could be the reason why they were coming down the wrong way, I thought maybe it was a drunk driver… it wasn’t until I talked to the nurses and read the reports.”

News reports at the time say another fatal collision happened the same way just a year earlier. Residents of the area and reportedly the mayor had been calling for better signage at an intersection that leads to the highway. The Downers say hospital staff told them the confusing intersection was a recurring problem.

Quebec transportation officials added new signage within days of the crash.

The coroner in his report says there was no cognitive, visual or physical condition to explain the wrong-way driver. The corner says he was told by investigators and a paramedic that the area was a problem because of inadequate signage.

The case is set to go to court near the end of this year. Quebec’s transportation ministry denies any liability in the matter.