Update: Body of missing car wreck victim found

Source: CBC.ca

QUEBEC - A body found west of Baie Comeau is that of a man missing since a car crash last week, Quebec provincial police have confirmed.

Francois-André Hérvieux, 22, was one of three passengers in a sport utility vehicle that left a ramp off of Route 138 near the Innu community of Pessamit on Nov. 26. The vehicle landed in the Betsiamites River.

Hérvieux’s body was found on Wednesday by a passerby on a beach near the mouth of the river.

The condition of the body made identification difficult, said police. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Two women who were rescued from the vehicle were treated for hypothermia.

Alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, and police said charges could be laid against the woman who was driving.

Hérvieux was a resident of Sept-Îles, but was originally from the town of Betsiamites.

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Source: CBC.ca [Nov 26, 2009]

Divers search for missing man near Baie-Comeau

QUEBEC - Provincial police divers were searching Thursday for a 20-year-old man involved in an early morning crash west of Baie-Comeau, Que.

The man was one of three passengers in a sport utility vehicle that left a ramp off of Route 138 near the Innu community of Pessamit.

After the vehicle landed in the Betsiamites River, only two of the three passengers were located, said provincial police Lt. Paul Charbonneau.

"The search was started by the firefighters in Pessamit, on the banks of the river and in the nearby woods on both sides of river," Charbonneau said. "This will continue until we are satisfied that the individual has not left the river."

Two women rescued from the vehicle were being treated for hypothermia in a nearby hospital.

Charbonneau said it was unclear how long the women had been in the river.

"We can guess that with water temperature being what it is this time of year — and the fact that they had to walk a while before they hit any houses — that explains the hypothermia."

Charbonneau said police suspect alcohol may have been involved in the crash and charges could be laid against the woman who was driving.