The husband of a woman who was struck and seriously injured over the weekend says police need to review their policies on high-speed police chases.
Last Saturday morning, 42-year-old Nancy Carrier was shoveling snow in front of her home on Sherbrooke St. E. near De Lery St., when at around 11 o'clock, several cars began plowing down her street at high speed. The one at the front was being chased by a handful of police cruisers — and all of them were thought to have been travelling at double the posted speed limit of 50 km/h.
One of them lost control and hit Carrier, who was sent flying at least 10 metres.
Not long before, Carrier had just arrived home from an outing with her two young children, aged nine and four, who were both inside the house at the time of the crash.
The chase began about four kilometres away, on the Jacques Cartier Bridge, when police tried to flag down a motorist for a suspected traffic violation. The motorist failed to pull over after getting off the bridge, and headed east. The suspect struck several vehicles along the way before crashing into a lamppost, not far from Carrier's home. He was put in handcuffs shortly after.
Carrier's husband, Simon Duclos, told CTV Montreal that such a police chase might have been understandable if they were tracking someone down who was armed and dangerous, but wonders why a high-speed chase was necessary in this case — especially considering they knew his licence plate number, and knew where he lived.
"Why such a high speed chase in Montreal? We talk about asking people to return to the city, to live in Montreal, but if we're not safe at home, on our sidewalk," Duclos said. "I could understand if they were chasing an armed thief, but I think this was about a problem with a licence plate. This is sad."
Carrier's condition was touch-and-go for the first 24 hours after the accident. On Monday, she underwent nine hours of surgery to have braces installed in her legs. Her condition has now stabilized, though she now faces months of rehabilitation.
Quebec's Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) is currently investigating the crash. Duclos says he wants police to reconsider their policies.