Quebec investigators look into Nunavik vehicle collision

A woman rides her ATV in a Nunavik community in this file photo. A new Quebec investigations unit is looking into an Aug. 21 vehicle accident between an ATV and a police vehicle in Puvirnituq. (FILE IMAGE)

Quebec’s newly-established office of independent investigations is looking into a Nunavik vehicle collision that left a passenger seriously injured Aug. 21.

That evening, just after 9 p.m., the Kativik Regional Police Force responded to a call about two Puvirnituq residents using their all-terrain vehicle to circle another group of residents.

Police pursued the ATV, and at about 9:14 p.m., the ATV collided with the KRPF vehicle, said the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes in an Aug. 22 release.

During the collision, the ATV’s female driver and male passenger were ejected, seriously injuring the male passenger. The driver sustained minor injuries.

Neither were wearing helmets at the time, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) said.

In a release put out later Aug. 22, the BEI said the passenger remained in hospital, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Five investigators and two crime scene technicians from the office travelled to Puvirnituq Aug. 22 to look into the circumstances of the accident, leaving the Hudson coast community early Aug. 23.

The BEI is asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact its office through its website at www.bei.gouv.qc.ca.

As is the case when any citizen is seriously injured during a police intervention, another police organization is mandated to investigate.

While the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force or the Montreal Police Service had in the past overseen investigations into KRPF conduct, new legislation put in place in Quebec this past June now mandates the BEI to lead these investigations. The organization is an agency of the Quebec government, but is set up to operate independently.

The results of any BEI investigation are forwarded to Quebec’s Crown prosecutor’s office to determine if charges should be pressed.

The BEI said the incident in Puvirnituq is its fourth investigation in Quebec and first in Nunavik since the new legislation was put in place.