1 dead, 5 hurt in head-on crash on Autoroute Guy-Lafleur

One person is dead and five others injured after a head-on crash Monday afternoon on Autoroute Guy-Lafleur, about 100 kilometres east of Gatineau, Que.

Sûreté du Québec (SQ) were called around 5:15 p.m. to a stretch of the former Autoroute 50 near montée Boucher in the municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge.

Provincial police said an eastbound sedan unexpectedly veered into the westbound lane of the former Autoroute 50, striking a westbound vehicle.

Speaking in French, Sgt. Marc Tessier described the collision as "fairly violent" and said it caused a fire to break out.

One woman who was in the vehicle that was struck died at the scene of the crash. Two passengers in the same vehicle are in critical condition, while a third suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Two occupants in the vehicle that veered sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The highway was temporarily closed but has now been reopened.

Sgt. Marc Tessier of the Sûreté du Québec described Monday's collision on Autoroute Guy-Lafleur as 'fairly violent.' (Hugo Belanger/Radio-Canada)

Tessier said it's too early to speculate on what caused the vehicle to veer into the opposing lane until police get a chance to speak with the injured occupants.

"The investigation will continue [Tuesday] morning and in the coming days to see what happened. When the people who were in the other vehicle are able to meet us, they will be met by investigators," he said.

This is the fourth fatal collision on the highway since March.

"It's almost one death per month," Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor Tom Arnold told Radio-Canada in French. "It's ridiculous!"

Arnold said he and other officials have been asking Quebec's Ministry of Transportation to build a safety barrier between the opposing lanes.

"This has been urgent for a long time," he said.