A Montreal musician has died after falling from a third-floor balcony in the city’s Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood.
First responders said a 911 call came in just after 11 a.m. on Sunday reporting that a person had fallen off a balcony.
Urgences-santé said the victim was found at ground level with serious injuries to both his upper and lower body.
Neighbours say the fall may have happened while the man was trying to throw his Christmas tree over the balcony.
Images from outside of the apartment building on Monday show a heavy metal fence at street level with sharp, pointed edges and tree fragments around it as well as traces of blood on the sidewalk.
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The victim was identified as 42-year-old Mario Allard, a talented and well-known saxophone player who had played alongside Quebec superstar Robert Charlebois, among many other musicians.
A neighbour told Global News there was a woman who screamed and that another man came out to see and then covered the body with a blanket.
“That’s awful. It’s something you can’t imagine,” said Sandrine D’entremont.
Police said there was nothing criminal about the incident.
Friends of the saxophonist expressed their disbelief and shock on social media.
“It’s unimaginable,” said Marilène Provencher-Leduc. “Just last week, we were skating with our little boys laughing.”
Allard graduated in 2016 from McGill University with a masters in jazz performance and was well known in the city’s jazz scene performing at clubs. He studied with renowned American saxophonist Donny McCaslin.
“Just a kind person and somebody who worked really hard,” McCaslin said.
“People loved him so much in the music community, not only for his great musicianship, but for who he was as a person. A really, really thoughtful person.”
