Driver fatigue raised at snow truck deaths inquiry

A Quebec coroner is considering whether driver fatigue could have been a major factor in the deaths of four Montrealers killed by snow trucks last winter.

Coroner Luc Malouin is overseeing an inquest investigating three separate fatal accidents involving large snow-removal vehicles.

On Tuesday, Malouin asked driver Marc Choquette about rules that govern his trade.

The owner of two snow removal companies, Choquette was behind the wheel when Solange St-Onge and Jean-Paul Pinet were struck and killed on Sherbrooke Street in February 2009.

Choquette said he worked all night leading up to the accident, resting for only three hours before starting another shift.

He told the inquest that neither he nor his 20 employees have to show identification when they deliver a load at the depot that stores the city's snow.

That means any driver could easily work a double shift without anyone knowing, Malouin commented.

Choquette told the inquest that he didn't see St-Onge and Pinet when they walked in front of his truck because of a substantial blind spot.

He was also driving without a valid licence because he amassed too many demerit points.

Choquette complained to Malouin about pedestrians who act carelessly around large trucks.

A second truck driver who testified at the inquest struggled to keep her composure when she took the stand on Tuesday.

Dany Riendeau teared up as she admitted she never saw 76-year-old Lucie Rivard Lanouette while driving her truck.

The inquest will resume on Thursday with testimony from the head of the city of Montreal's snow-clearing operations.