A driver lost his life early Monday morning in a violent head-on collision in Alma, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
The 34-year-old woman was driving a Tesla car when the vehicle left its lane and drove directly into an oncoming dump truck.
At the time of the accident, which occurred around 8:40 a.m., the pavement on boulevard Maurice-Paradis was not smooth.
The numerous debris from the vehicle covered a good part of the carriageway after the collision.
“The road was clear on wet pavement, it’s a very slight curve and it’s not necessarily a place prone to accidents,” explains Hugues Beaulieu of the Sûreté du Québec in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
All hypotheses are considered to explain this particularly violent collision.
“The circumstances are always hazy, is it a matter of falling asleep or even a distraction? The investigation will of course determine that. There will also be a mechanical inspection of the vehicle,” adds the SQ spokesman.
The police will also assess whether automatic driving was involved during the tragedy.
Tesla cars are equipped with level 2 driver assistance systems on a scale of 5, where 0 is a regular vehicle and 5 is a 100% autonomous vehicle.
Although the Tesla system is called “autopilot”, the car is still far from being able to drive itself.