CALGARY – Two people were killed and five others were injured in a crash west of Calgary on Wednesday. All of the people involved were adults.
A witness told EMS the white van lost control and rolled multiple times in the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Highway 22 at around 9:15 a.m.
Two people, who were confirmed to be members of the Stoney Nakoda Nation, were ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The survivors suffered injuries ranging in severity. The driver, a woman in her mid 30s, was transported to hospital by STARS helicopter with potentially life-threatening injuries. The remaining four, three women and one man, were taken by ground ambulance and were all in serious condition as of 1 p.m.
“It’s a tragic thing for Stoney Nation because our young people are our resources and our future and this is very scary when we have something like this happen,” said Krista Hunter, a resident of Stoney Nakoda Nation and a relative of one of the deceased. “There’s seven family members involved and it impacts the whole community… this is going to be a continuous grief for all of us.”
There was an extraordinary number of members of the Stoney Nakoda community who came to the site of the accident, to show support and express their grief.
“When you’re traumatized and shocked, you don’t know what’s going on, and knowing there’s people here to support you – that’s the strength our people have,” Hunter said.
RCMP said it’s believed alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.
The collision caused the temporary closure of Highway 1 and the RCMP are using weigh scales to allow traffic to trickle through.
With files from Global’s Jill Croteau
More details to come…