Accidents spark plea

A spike in the number of highway traffic accidents from a year ago is a concern for MD Ambulance paramedics.

Last month, paramedics responded to 39 highway accidents within the Saskatoon Health Region in October, an increase from 29 in October 2009.

"As paramedics it’s our duty to let the public know that these accidents are occurring and people are losing their lives," MD Ambulance spokesperson Troy Davies said in a news release. "The last six weeks have been horrific; there have been several fatal crashes not only in the Saskatoon Health Region but all over the province."

On Sunday, nine people were killed in two accidents on the east side of the province, including six in a two-vehicle accident near Moosomin.

Jordan Dobson was leaving work on Sunday afternoon when he glanced over his shoulder and saw the fiery collision.

"I saw smoke and flames 100 yards down the highway," the 26-year-old said Monday. "I screamed at my father and said, ‘We have to go, there’s been an accident.’

"I was there a minute before him. I tried to put the fire out with snow in the payloader. By the look of the vehicle there was no chance. The vehicle was absolutely destroyed. I would not expect anybody to have lived through what the truck had been through."

An SUV was travelling northbound on Highway 8, 12 kilometres north of Moosomin, when it entered the southbound lane and collided head-on with a pickup truck.

The SUV was driven by a 50-year-old woman. The two occupants were her children, a 26-year-old man and a 23-year-old man. All were from the Cowessess First Nation.

"The first thing I did was go to the green vehicle that looked like there might be a chance of a survivor and there was," Jordan said. "There was one survivor in the backseat."

The 23-year-old from the SUV is the only one to survive the collision. He is in critical condition at a Regina hospital.

Jordan didn’t hear any screams for help from the pickup truck.

"That’s what made us give up when we did," he said. "We knew nobody was alive inside."

The driver of the pickup truck was a 21-year-old man. With him were three male passengers — a 20-year-old and two 18-year-olds — all from Rocanville. The 21-year-old and 20-year-old were cousins; the two 18-year-olds were friends.

Notification of next of kin is continuing for all six individuals. However, the families that have been notified have not given permission for the victims’ names to be released.

"Rocanville will be grieving for a while," Jordan said.

The deaths will also take a toll on residents of Moosomin, a community 27 kilometres away.

"Between Moosomin and Rocanville, there’s a lot of relatives in both communities, Jordan said. "Everybody is somewhat related, if we’re not friends. There’s not too many people between the two towns that I don’t know."

On Monday, red roses marked the accident site.

"I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20 years with the RCMP," Sgt. Gordon Stewart, with Moosomin RCMP, told reporters at the crash site on Monday.

It was the worst crash Stewart has ever attended. The half-ton truck exploded and burned on impact.

Roads at the time were reported to be snow-covered in places, and there was also swirling snow.

The provincial coroner, Broadview RCMP detachment and an RCMP traffic reconstructionist from Yorkton are assisting with the investigation.

The principal of Rocanville School and the town’s mayor described the four young men as a great group of kids.

"Today is the worst day," Mayor Daryl Fingas said Monday. "It really hit hard this morning. Myself, another councillor and our administrator visited each family."

The four men were well-known in the community, Fingas said.

The ice rink was to be opened for community members to gather and grief counsellors were to be made available there. Grief counsellors were also at Rocanville School.

The four young men had all attended school at Rocanville. Two had graduated two years ago, one last year and one was still in Grade 12.

"I knew all of them real well," said principal Brennan Merkosky. "All very sports-minded young guys — fun loving."

"Such a big hole has been left in the community," said Merkosky. "They were everywhere. They were on the golf course. They played hockey on the senior team. They played slowpitch. They just did a lot of things and you always noticed them."

Meanwhile, Yorkton RCMP continue to investigate a crash Sunday that killed three people one kilometre east of Saltcoats on Highway 16 in east-central Saskatchewan.

The parents of four Winnipeg children — two of whom are now battling for their lives in a Regina hospital — were killed, along with a 17-year-old girl who was driving a second vehicle.

Her westbound Honda Civic was attempting to pass another vehicle when it collided head-on with a minivan occupied by the Winnipeg family.

The parents, both age 38, were declared dead at the scene. Two male children, ages 15 and 13, were airlifted to a Regina hospital with critical injuries. The other two children, boys aged 16 and nine, were taken to hospital in Yorkton for treatment.

Names won’t be released at the request of both families. Road conditions at the time were snow covered and visibility was reduced.

Saltcoats is located 24 kilometres southeast of Yorkton.