The driver who struck an 18-year-old cyclist in a fatal collision in Montreal on Friday was using a stolen car before he fled the scene on foot, police say.
The vehicle was reportedly being chased by an unmarked provincial police patrol car just before the deadly hit-and-run, according to Quebec’s police watchdog.
Early reports suggest a provincial police officer saw the driver committing a “possible violation” of road safety laws near the Gouin courthouse and tried to stop suspect, who fled and hit the young man, the agency said.
The collision occurred shortly before noon on Friday at Henri-Bourassa Boulevard and Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal’s Ahuntsic neighbourhood, local police said.
The cyclist was crossing the intersection when a man driving “at high speed” on Jeanne-Mance struck the biker head-on, said Montreal police spokesperson Manuel Couture.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect abandoned the stolen car — a Honda Civic — within a few blocks of the collision, Couture said in a phone interview.
“Our investigators are working very hard in order to apprehend the suspect,” he said.
The province’s police investigations bureau, which probes incidents involving officers, has put a six-person team on the case.
Montreal police have opened a parallel criminal investigation into the hit-and-run.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2026.
By Christopher Reynolds | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.