A man died in a single-vehicle crash on Edmonton’s eastern outskirts Tuesday morning, and the RCMP believe he may have been involved in a stabbing hours earlier in Strathcona County.
The crash happened on Anthony Henday Drive near Aurum Road, a few hours after a woman was assaulted east of the city.
Mounties out of the Strathcona County detachment responded to a home near Township Road 510 and Range Road 221 at 5:17 a.m.
“Upon arriving, emergency crews helped out a 44-year-old victim with very serious injuries,” RCMP communications Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in an interview with Global News.
The suspect had already left by the time police arrived.
Alberta Health Services confirmed the woman was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
“After this assault, the suspect left, went to another location and later left that location when they were involved in a single-vehicle collision on the Anthony Henday,” Savinkoff said.
The Edmonton Police Service said its investigators believe the car the man was driving was headed south on the Henday at about 8:45 a.m. — and was south of the 153rd Avenue exit and across the North Saskatchewan River — “when it left the road and collided with the concrete base of a pole at highway speed.”
The 21-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
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“We do believe that the individual involved in the fatal collision that EPS is investigating is our suspect from the Range Road 221 assault,” Savinkoff said.
Police do not yet know if the driver lost control or crashed deliberately.
A Global News helicopter saw emergency crews at the scene at about 8:45 a.m. An ambulance and fire truck could be seen near a car with a tarp over it.
How the young man and woman knew each other has not yet been disclosed by police.
“There is a relationship between a resident in that residence and the accused in this incident,” Savinkoff said, adding he could not yet share what their relationship was.
“It’s a very tragic case all around. My thoughts go out to the family that was assaulted, as well as the family of the deceased individual in this case.
“It’s a very, very tragic incident for everybody. But we hope that our 44-year-old victim makes a full recovery from her very serious injuries.”
The EPS major collision investigation section is the lead on the fatal crash in Edmonton while RCMP investigate the attack that precipitated it.
“When you look at Strathcona County, they’re right adjacent to EPS’ border so a lot of time there is overlap and members are quite used to working in tandem,” Savinkoff said.
“In this case we were in contact with Edmonton police right away — their strategic communications department — ensuring that we got the information out to everyone, confirm that link between the two incidents and work together.”
Anyone who may have witnessed the fatal collision is asked to contact the EPS by calling 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone.
Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated after the RCMP confirmed that it is actually the Edmonton Police Service investigating the crash while RCMP investigate the assault.
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