Quebec truck crash kills 3 cyclists, injures 3

The accident that killed three cyclists and injured three others southeast of Montreal on Friday was like a "bowling match," says one of the survivors.

The cyclists, all from Montreal's south shore, were hit from behind by a pickup truck.

"I felt like I was flying and everyone around me was flying," Jean Dessureault said.

Thecyclists, members of the Saint-Lambert Triathlon Club, were training for an Ironman competition in Lake Placid, N.Y., in July, Dessureault told the CBC's French-language service.

The three women who died have been identified as Sandra de la Garza Aguilar, 36, of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que., Lyn Duhamel, 39, of Boucherville, Que., and Christine Deschamps, 44, of Brossard, Que.

Dessureault, and the two other injured cyclists both women were released from hospital on Friday afternoon.

"We trained together all the time," Dessureault said. "It is horrible they were young women in perfect health."

Heading to Sherbrooke

The crash scene stretchedmore than 30 metres alongHighway 112 near Rougemont andwas strewn with mangledbike frames, shoes, water bottles and a wristwatch.

The cyclists are friends who regularly ride together and wereen routeto Sherbrooke on Friday morning as part of their training for the triathlon season,police said.

The pickup struck themjust before 10 a.m. The truck driver, who was heading east at the time, was not injured. Police said he rushed to help the cyclists and administered first aid.

"The driver of the vehicle in question was a man and alcohol is not a factor," said Quebec provincial police Sgt. Claude Denis.

He said it was too soon to say what caused the accident or whether charges will be laid.

The group was training at the same time as a faster pack of ridersfarther down the road.

Shortly before the crash,the survivors had been riding two by two, said a spokesman for the club, ric Lemyre. But they returned to a single file formation because the road had no paved shoulder.

"They didn't even see the car coming, everything was very quick," Lemyre said. "[all of a sudden], three people they love were lying on the street."

The weather was cloudy, but no rain was reported in the morning.Highway traffic wasrerouted while police investigated.

The highway was closed until just before 8 p.m.

No paved shoulders

Bruno Svigny, a member of the same cycling club, was riding about an hour behind the victims on Friday.

Still dressed in his cycling gear, hetold reporters on the scenehe was in complete shock.

"It's obviously very dangerous here," Svigny said.

Marc Villeneuve, aresident in the region, said he regularlyrides around Rougemont but doesn't use Highway 112 because it has no paved shoulders.

"I avoid that area,"hetold CBC News, standing near the crash scene. "There is no shoulder on the road. So even if the car [lanes] are doubled on each side, the traffic is very fast and there's gravel on the [side].

"It's very dangerous."

Officials with Quebec's Transport Ministry said the province had already planned to repave the section of the highway where thecrash occurred and would also pave the shoulders.

Work is to start in the next few weeks, said ministry spokeswoman Julie Morin.

Cyclists have 'right to be there'

The crash is a tragic reminder fortransport officialsabout the pressing need to make roads safer for two-wheeled vehicles, said Suzanne Lareau, president of cycling advocacy group Vlo-Qubec.

Under Quebec highway rules, any road travelled by more than 5,000 vehicles a day must have paved shoulders.

"I can't understand why on this part of the road, why the shoulder was not paved," she said.

The accident is an occasion to remind drivers of the need to share the road with cyclists, said Jean-Marie de Koninck, president of the province's Road Safety Experts Group.

"You have to slow down because the cyclists have the right to be there, and you must leave them enough space to drive safely," de Koninck said.

The crash bears a chilling resemblance to a similarincident last summer in Ottawa, when five experienced cyclists were struck.

None of them died, but one spent months recovering in hospital. The driver in that incident has been charged with hit and run.