Salluit boy dies after sliding into vehicle

KUUJJUAQ – A young boy in Salluit has died after being struck by a vehicle.

Police say a six-year-old boy was hit by a vehicle when the sled he was playing with slid onto the road the evening of Nov. 29.

The boy was pronounced dead shortly after at the local nursing station.

The driver of the vehicle reportedly fled the scene of the accident. Shortly afterward, the Kativik Regional Police Force transferred the file to the Sûreté du Québec provincial police, which is investigating.

Sgt. Jean-Mathieu Lafleur of the KRPF said an SQ team from Rouyn-Noranda was sent to Salluit Nov. 30 to reconstruct the scene of the hit and run.
An arrest may have been made in connection with the case, police said, but details weren’t available at press time.

The young boy was sliding with other children at the time of the accident, although no other children were reported as injured.

Sgt. Lafleur said children should never ride their sleds near roads.

Speaking at the KRG meeting of regional councillors in Kuujjuaq, Salluit councillor Michael Cameron expressed his condolences to the family of the victim.

“This is a very painful time for people in my community, and I’m there with them,” he said.

Police quickly cordoned off the site of a fatal collision which occurred on Nov. 29 in Salluit. A six-year-old boy, one of many children who were taking advantage of warm conditions to go sliding, was hit by a vehicle when the sled he was playing with slid on to the road and into the path of a vehicle. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)