Police announce no criminal charges in cycling death of Clément Ouimet

Montreal police have not to laid criminal charges in the cycling death of Clément Ouimet. The 18-year-old was killed on Oct. 4 after being struck by an SUV driven by a 59-year-old California-native on Mount Royal in Montreal. The investigation has yet to be completed but the police revised a previous statement that a charge had been laid.

The driver of the SUV that struck Ouimet made a sudden illegal U-turn. Ouimet was traveling down Voie Camillien-Houde on Mount Royal when he the driver made the illegal U-turn near the Camillien-Houde Belvedere. Ouimet was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The announcement that no charges had been placed comes the day after a police spokesperson announced that a charge of criminal negligence causing death would be laid. However, that statement was revised with the police announcing they would not be laying charges in the death of Ouimet.

View this post on Instagram

RIP Clément Ouimet. 18 years old…what a waste. #ride4clement Very sad this morning to wake up with the news of the death of a young man full of promises. Clement passed away during a training ride on Montreal's Camilien Houde climb when he hit car that pulled a U Turn in front of him when he was coming back down the hill. Our condolences and prayers go out to his family, his friends and his whole team @thepack.montreal. #sadness @globalcyclingnetwork @cyclingnews_feed @pedalmag @velonews @soigneurs @canadiancycling @so_montreal @cxmagazine @redhookcrit

A post shared by Cannondale Échelon p/b 4iiii (@cannondale_echelon) on Oct 5, 2017 at 9:09am PDT

According to the Montreal Gazette, the driver met with police investigators on Tuesday and signed a promise to appear in court at a later date.

The death has sparked the introduction of new security measures on the road which is a popular training spot for cyclists and features in the UCI WorldTour one-day race the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. Mayor Denis Coderre who is seeking re-election as mayor announced the new measures last week.

The new measures include extending the central concrete median by 30 metres after the Camillien-Houde Belvedere lookout, the placement of new signage indicating that U-turns are illegal, the installation of digital speed indicators and information panels at the top and bottom of  Camillien-Houde telling drivers U-turns are forbidden on the mountain.

Mesures de sécurité temporaires sur Camillien-Houde complétées. Comptons sur collaboration de tous pour les respecter. #velomtl #visionzero pic.twitter.com/F5V0Dl3c0b

— DenisCoderre (@DenisCoderre) October 14, 2017

Ouimet was a junior racer with Espoirs Élite Primeau Vélo and had participated in the Tour de L’Abitibi over the summer. A memorial ride in his honour drew out a mourning crowd of 250 on Oct. 6 for a silent ride up the mountain in his memory.