WATCH ABOVE: More information is being released about the victims of yesterday’s fatal crash on Highway 2. Jessica Kent has the details.
EDMONTON – Two of the three people killed in a crash on the QEII highway south of Edmonton on Monday were University of Alberta students.
The third person who died in the crash was a former U of A student. A fourth person — a 21-year-old woman — suffered critical injuries and remains in hospital in serious but stable condition.
RCMP say all four individuals involved in the crash are Chinese citizens. Their identities are not being released but officers say a 20-year-old man, a 20-year-old woman, and a 24-year-old man were killed.
“Words seem inadequate to express the sadness enveloping our campus today,” wrote U of A president Indira Samarasekera on Tuesday.
“On behalf of our university community, I wish to send my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the students who died. Our prayers are with the survivor.”
The crash happened at 10 a.m. Monday just south of the construction on the new 41 Avenue overpass. Police believe an SUV lost control and rolled over with four people inside.
RCMP believe the vehicle went onto the shoulder as it was travelling south and lost control.
“It’s too early for us to be able to be able to be more specific other than know that this SUV rolled a number of times in the centre lanes of Highway 2,” explained Const. Julian Celms, Leduc RCMP.
STARS Air Ambulance was called to the scene to transport a woman suffering from critical injuries to an Edmonton hospital. Her condition is believed to be grave.
The university is urging anyone affected by the deaths to reach out and use supports offered on campus.
“The resources we have are things like the counselling and clinical services, we have the community social work team, the chaplains association and the peer support centre,” explained U of A interim provost Olive Yonge.
Now, school officials are preparing for the arrival of the victims’ families from China.
“The families will be starting to travel to the University of Alberta tomorrow,” said Yonge.
“They have to decide on how they want to deal with the memories of their children… There are a lot of things we need to discuss with the families.”
The Chinese Students Association will be holding a public vigil at the university Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The names of the deceased have not been released.
WATCH: Tom Vernon reports on a collision just south of Edmonton that killed three people and left one person with critical injuries.
*NOTE: This article was originally published on Feb. 16. It was updated on Feb. 17 with a statement from the university.
Comments