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No charges to be laid in teen bobsled crash at Canada Olympic Park: police

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Police release details of bobsled crash at Canada Olympic Park
WATCH ABOVE: Police have released the details of the bobsled crash at Canada Olympic Park and no charges will be laid against the survivors. Gary Bobrovitz reports – Mar 8, 2016

A month has passed since eight teens climbed over a fence at Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park after hours and used three plastic sleds to slide down the bobsled track. A crash into the gate where the bobsled and luge tracks merged resulted in the death of twin brothers by “multiple blunt force trauma” and caused six teens to suffer injuries ranging from bruises to the loss of an eye.

Calgary police said Monday its investigation into the death of Jordan and Evan Caldwell on the WinSport track is over, and no charges will be laid. They said drugs and alcohol are not a contributing factor in the incident.

“The teens who were seriously injured in the incident have since been released from hospital, however, at least one will have life-altering injuries as a result,” police said in a release.

READ MORE: Canada Olympic Park incident – what we know about the injured teens

Watch below: Global’s past coverage of the sledding incident at Calgary Olympic Park

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Police said investigators thoroughly reviewed the scene, and confirmed a timeline of Feb. 6, starting at about 1:10 a.m.

Police said eight teens, ages 16 to 19, parked their cars on Paskapoo Drive S.W. and climbed over a seven-foot locked fence at the park. The teens carried three plastic sleds to the start of the bobsled track.

READ MORE: Crash at Canada Olympic Park a chance to talk to teens about risky behaviour

At the fifth turn, the sled struck a barrier that allowed the luge track to be open and the bobsled track to be blocked. It’s about two feet in height and 60 feet in length, police said, with a “thick metal chain and come-along bar holding the structure in place.”

The group on the first sled passed under the chain, but hit the barrier and pushed it to the centre of the track, police said.

CALGARY OLYMPIC PARK DEATHS

“The teens fell from the sled, with two of the injured teens sliding further down the track,” investigators said in a release.

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The next group of three teens got on their sled, and headed down the track, unaware of what had happened to their friends. As they got near the fifth turn, they saw the chain as they passed underneath.

“It was at this point they struck one of the already injured teens who was laying on the track, throwing all from their sled,” police said.

One of the teens jumped off the track and tried to run up to warn the last two in the group, but they’d already started down the track, police said.

“The third sled had two passengers, including Jordan Caldwell, who was sitting at the front of the sled. As the sled approached the collision scene, Jordan Caldwell struck the chain. Both teens came to rest near the other injured parties.”

READ MORE: Twins who died in Calgary bobsled track crash remembered as top students, volunteers

One of the teenagers called 911 from their cellphone.

“After interviewing all parties involved and a thorough investigation into the factors, due to the specific circumstances of the incident charges will not be laid,” police said in a statement. “No further details will be released and police will not be speaking to this matter as it has been deemed not to be a criminal incident.”

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WinSport spokesperson Dale Oviatt said Monday his organization’s continued thoughts are with the families of the teens, and that WinSport’s independent investigation is ongoing.

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