Two people on a motorcycle and a passenger of a truck who stopped to help were killed Thursday night on a highway intersection near Maskwacis, Alta.
RCMP say preliminary investigation suggests a pickup truck was heading north on Highway 2A and, when it turned left onto Highway 611 west, collided with a southbound motorcycle.
The two people riding the motorcycle were thrown from it.
The driver and passenger of the pickup truck got out and tried to help them. But, they were hit by a third vehicle, an SUV, that was heading south on Highway 2A and crashed into the initial collision scene.
The 51-year-old male driver of the motorcycle, his 47-year-old female passenger, and the 47-year-old woman who was a passenger in the pickup truck died at the scene, RCMP said.
All three were from Maskwacis, a community about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton.
A friend identified Kevin Montour as one of the people killed. Derwin Okeynan said Montour was on the motorcycle. He and his wife were business owners, Okeynan said, and operated Montour Towing.
“He was a nice guy, good to know, just laughing. The first thing, he’d come and shake your hand. That’s the thing I’ll always remember,” Okeynan said.
“He was a nice guy. I’m going to miss him.”
The pickup truck driver was not hurt. The driver and three passengers inside the SUV were also not injured.
RCMP said it’s too early to determine whether charges will be laid, but they said they have no reason to believe that speeding or alcohol were factors.
“A tragic collision of this nature hits the Maskwacis community hard,” Staff Sgt. Simon McDermott said Friday.
“This is a tragedy. Three people in a small community such as this have passed away and as a result, people are struggling.
“It impacts a small community because everybody knows everybody,” McDermott said.
He confirmed this intersection has been the scene of other crashes.