A man in his 70s died and four more people were taken to hospital, including a three-year-old boy, after a serious two-vehicle crash in west Edmonton on Wednesday, according to Alberta Health Services.
Police said investigators are still working to determine what happened but that “speed and alcohol are considered to be factors in this collision.”
A number of emergency vehicles could be seen on 100 Avenue between 167 Street and 168 Street at about 7 p.m. Emergency crews had set up a black tarp along the road.
Police told Global News the collision involved two vehicles and that one was believed to be driving on a street in the wrong direction. AHS said emergency crews arrived at the scene of the collision at about 6:20 p.m.
According to police, officers were told that a pickup truck was headed west in the eastbound-only lanes of 100 Avenue near 167 Street when it collided with a minivan heading east.
The 75-year-old man who died in the crash was the driver of the minivan, according to police. A family friend identified him as Walter McLean.
AHS said in addition to the fatality, a child, a man and a woman were taken to the University of Alberta Hospital in stable condition. A man in his 30s was taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital in serious condition. Police said the man taken to the Royal Alex was the 38-year-old driver of the pickup truck.
Police said of the people taken to the university hospital, the boy is three years old, the woman is 70 years old and the man is 32 years old. All three were passengers in the minivan.
Chad Mulchand lives nearby and heard the crash Wednesday night. He said he looked out his balcony and saw several people run to the scene to try to help the people in both vehicles.
“I think just some local businesses and bystanders that were around. They started rushing to the vehicles to see if everyone was OK,” Mulchand said.
“One person was on their phone with 911… It was pretty clear that it was required. As they were calling 911, I quickly noticed there were EPS officers — about three of them — running as fast as they could on foot. There was a police vehicle that quickly followed behind them, followed by multiple police vehicles. There were ambulances, fire trucks, first responders.
“It was pretty horrific,” he said. “A horrible, horrible accident.”
Mulchand has lived in the area since 2008 and said it’s not uncommon to see people drive the wrong way down the one-way avenue. He said he’s seen minor collisions in the past, but nothing like this.
“I’d say daily there’s a minimum of seven vehicles driving the wrong direction down this avenue pretty consistently. I think since the pandemic occurred, it’s up to 15 vehicles a day that I’m seeing driving down the wrong direction,” he said.
“You only notice it because you’re hearing five or six vehicles honking at the vehicle driving down the wrong direction, obviously trying to keep everyone safe. You hear vehicles swerving, to just avoid the vehicle that turned out into the wrong direction of traffic. You hear police sirens.”
100 Avenue becomes a two-way road a few blocks east of the collision site, at 163 Street.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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