EDMONTON – The end of October and first day of November have been deadly on rural Alberta roads. Between 8 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday, 14 people were killed in eight different collisions on rural roads in Alberta. Several more drivers and passengers were injured in the crashes.
Here’s a timeline of events:
8 p.m. Friday, Willingdon/ Two Hills
A 44-year-old man from Edmonton was killed in a collision near the village of Willingdon. Two Hills RCMP responded to the crash between a Pontiac Pursuit and a Ford F550 truck at the intersection of Highway 857 and Highway 645. The 44-year-old man driving the Pontiac car died at the scene. His passenger and the driver of the truck were not injured, but taken to local hospitals as a precaution.
2:45 a.m. Saturday, Two Hills
Four men were killed and three other people seriously injured when their car rolled five kilometers east of Two Hills. The single-vehicle rollover happened on Highway 45 near Range Road 122. The driver, a 30-year-old man, along with a 22-year-old man, a 24-year-old male, and a 38-year-old man were killed on impact. The three other passengers — a 17-year-old girl, a 31-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man — were all taken to Edmonton-area hospitals with serious injuries. All seven people were from the St. Paul/Saddle Lake area.
Both of these collisions are being investigated by Two Hills RCMP. The community is about 140 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
4:55 a.m., Evansburg
A 34-year old man from Nojak was killed in a single-vehicle collision near Evansburg, on highway 16X and Range Road 93. The man, who died on scene, was the only person in the pickup truck. Evansburg is about 100 kilometres west of Edmonton.
6:30 a.m., Peace River
Two 26-year-old men were thrown from their vehicle and killed in an early morning crash on a rural road about 15 kilometres southeast of Peace River. Police responded to Range Road 204 near Township Road 830, where they found a SUV was rolled off the road and both men ejected from from it. Police do not believe either man was wearing a seatbelt. One was from Peace River, and the other was from the nearby community of Grimshaw. Peace River is about 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
9:15 a.m., Spruce Grove
Three people were killed and two others taken to hospital after a pickup truck and a dump truck collided south of Spruce Grove. It happened at the intersection of secondary Highway 628 and Range Road 273, also known as Golden Spike Road.
The pickup burst into flames upon impact. Of the four people in it, three were killed. A fourth, a man believed to be in his thirties, was flown by STARS air ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton in critical condition.
The woman driving the gravel truck was taken to hospital by ground ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries. Spruce Grove is about 20 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Mounties at the Spruce Grove scene said the province’s Medical Examiner was dealing with at least 10 recent deaths.
READ MORE: 3 people killed, 2 hospitalized by collision south of Spruce Grove
8:30 a.m. Sunday, near Ponoka
A Rimbey woman was killed in a single-vehicle rollover near Ponoka Sunday morning. RCMP Insp. Gibson Glavin said the collision happened at around 8:30 a.m. on Highway 53 west of 46 Street, near Ponoka.
RCMP said a truck was heading east on Highway 53 when the driver lost control. The vehicle left the road and rolled several times, throwing the 25-year-old woman from the vehicle. The woman, who was the passenger in the truck, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 24-year-old man driving the truck was taken to hospital in Red Deer. The extent of his injuries are not known.
“Another very sad statistic,” said Glavin.
8:30 a.m. Sunday, Wetaskiwin
Wetaskiwin RCMP were called to a single-vehicle rollover on Highway 2A south of Township Road 454 at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
Police said a Dodge Journey SUV left the road and rolled.
The 27-year-old woman driving the vehicle died at the scene. A 24-year-old male passenger was taken to hospital in Edmonton with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
RCMP believe the pair was from the Montana First Nation.
Noon Sunday, near Turner Valley
One woman was killed in a rollover near Turner Valley just before noon Sunday.
The collision happened at 272 Street and 386 Avenue West, just northwest of Turner Valley. RCMP said two people – a man and a woman – were inside the vehicle when it left the road and rolled several times.
A 32-year-old woman, who was the passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man driving was standing outside the vehicle when emergency crews arrived on scene and did not want to be assessed by EMS, according to Alberta Health Services. RCMP said the 34-year-old was arrested.
The RCMP K Division Collision Analyst is helping with several of the collisions. The names of the victims have not been released.
“As far as causes, vehicle collisions can come from so many different things and so many different ways. Most are preventable, but not all. So it’s something that is a concern to all Albertans,” said Glavin.
“One death is too many.”
*Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Saturday, Oct. 31. It was updated most recently at 3:02 p.m. MT Sunday.
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