A 42 year-old man and his one-year-old son died after their car was struck by a Via Rail passenger train at a crossing in Quebec and police are investigating whether the man parked there on purpose, officials have said.
The collision happened in St-Liboire, south of Montreal. A Via spokesman said the barriers were down at the crossing and lights were flashing.
The car was sliced in half. Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Joyce Kemp said authorities were not ruling out the possibility the driver deliberately positioned his car at the crossing.
"We cannot exclude that this could be a voluntary act and, for that reason, the investigation has been transferred to the homicide squad," Kemp said.
Kemp said the infant was declared dead after being transported to hospital.
Later yesterday, another provincial police spokesman said the two victims, who lived in the area, were father and son. Sergeant Claude Denis identified the victims as Thierry Patenaude-Turcotte and his son, Nicolas Turcotte.
Police said the collision occurred at about 7 10 am.Delays on Vial Rail's Montreal-Quebec City route yesterday. Via spokesman Jacques C Gagnon said in an interview said some 700 Via passengers were affected and that buses were chartered to allow them to get to their destinations.
