Does Virgil die?

Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz tells the story of the titular character Duddy, a hustler with one goal in mind: to buy a piece of land with his girlfriend, Yvette. Throughout the novel, Duddy works various jobs and gigs to scrape together money for a lakeside property he is desperate to own.
One of Duddy's schemes involves a business where he distributes movies, and he hires his friend Virgil as a traveling projectionist. Virgil has epilepsy, meaning he might have a seizure at any time, and Duddy is aware of his affliction. While driving for the job, Virgil is involved in a car accident rendering him paralyzed from the waist down. Virgil survives the crash, and Yvette, blaming Duddy for Virgil's fate, stays in the hospital to nurse Virgil back to health.
Duddy invites Virgil and Yvette to move into his uncle's mansion in an attempt to repair the damage done to their relationship. When he cannot get funds for the final payment on the property, he forges a check from Virgil's account. Yvette discovers the truth, and she and Virgil move out, leaving Duddy alone with his success.