A man in his 80s was in critical condition after the car he was driving plunged into the frigid St. Lawrence river in Verchères, east of Montreal on Wednesday morning.
The accident happened around 8:20 a.m. The car was parked under a temporary shelter, in front of his home, and it appears the man drove forwards toward the river, instead of backwards toward the road, Richelieu-Saint-Laurent police said.
The car had been parked about 45 metres from the river.
A neighbour saw what happened and called 911. Emergency responders got the car out of the river quickly, and took the man to a hospital.
The man’s wife was also taken to hospital to be treated for shock. She was not in the car at the time of the accident.
