Nunavik woman dies in Montreal vehicle accident

The Ullivik boarding home for medical patients of Nunavik is located near the Montreal airport. That’s where a Puvirnituq woman was staying last week when she was hit by a vehicle in a nearby parking lot and killed. (FILE PHOTO)

Montreal police are investigating the death of a Nunavik woman after she was struck by a vehicle while staying in the city.

Service de police de la ville de Montreal (SPVM) officers were called to the parking lot of a restaurant in the city’s Dorval neighbourhood late Oct. 27 after the driver of a 10-wheeler transport truck ran over a woman as he reversed.

The victim, a 36-year-old woman from Puvirnituq, suffered major head injuries and died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Police have not identified the woman.

The SPVM said she was staying as a visitor at the nearby Ullivik centre, a residence for Nunavimmiut patients who are receiving health care in the Montreal, which is located near the airport.

The parking lot where the woman died is about three blocks west of Ullivik.

SPVM spokesperson Benoit Boiselle said the truck was parked illegally in the lot that night, but no charges have been laid against the driver at this point.

“The investigation is ongoing because it’s unclear how the victim got under the truck,” he said. “He didn’t see where she came from. She could have been sleeping there—we don’t know.”

There were no witnesses to the accident, police said.