A Pointe Claire man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges relating to a spectacular high-speed crash that killed a woman on a highway on Montreal's West Island.

Kelly Canning had been charged with hit-and-run and dangerous driving in connection with the July 30 accident.

According to police, Canning was travelling 180 kilometres an hour on Highway 20 in Dorval when he rear ended a car carrying 79-year-old Cecile Dion. She was killed.

Dion's daughter, son-in-law and grandson, who were all in the car with her, were injured.

Police said Canning, who had drunk some beer before getting behind the wheel, left the scene of the accident.

Canning appeared in the Montreal courtroom in a suit and tie Wednesday, a contrast to the jeans and T-shirt he wore to a bail hearing in August.

"He didn't show any emotion," Dion's husband, Roland Beaulieu, told CBC News outside the courtroom Wednesday.

"I hope he regrets what he has done."

Dion's daughter, Diane Bourgoyne, said it was difficult being inside the courtroom.

"I hope he pays for what he did," she said outside court.

During the crash, which caused Dion's car to roll several times before hitting a concrete median, the bumper fell off Canning's black Ford Mustang.

Police used the bumper to track down Canning, who was arrested at his mother's house.