FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

A driver is lucky to be alive after his car went careening off the road last Thursday morning in Ste. Marthe.

According to Louis-Philippe Ruel of the Sûreté du Québec, the 39-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle on St. Guillaume Road and struck a tree. The injured driver was trapped in the wreckage.

The initial call to 911 shortly after 7 a.m. mentioned that the car had caught fire, Ruel said. However, when firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene, there were no flames. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to extricate the driver from the wreckage. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

The cause of the accident is unknown, Ruel said, adding that the driver was sent to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.