Petition calls for changes to make deadly Parkland County intersection safer

At the intersection of Highway 16A and Range Road 20 there are fresh flowers tied around a power pole, honouring a life lost on Aug. 2nd.

It happened just before 7 p.m., and when police arrived they found a man inside his vehicle with severe injuries.

The female driver of the other vehicle was taken to hospital with injuries.  The man died on scene.

Keshia Korrall said she was driving home from Parkland Equestrian with her sister.

“We rolled up on scene, I would say 30 seconds after it happened.  We saw an SUV and another vehicle on its side. There were two vehicles, two drivers and nobody around, so we jumped out as fast as we could.” Korrall said.

“The male drive unfortunately did pass away, and I stayed with him until the end.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first serious or deadly crash at this intersection.

“It’s awful, devastating, and traumatic. People in the area avoid it at all costs,” Korrall said.

Korrall started a petition to make the intersection safe. It also includes another intersection a kilometre east, known as ‘Beach Corner.’

“It’s definitely hitting home. We are (a) small community and we have each other’s backs,” Korrall said.

1:17 Parkland County residents exploring ways to improve safety at deadly Highway 16A intersection

Korrall also started a Facebook page to raise awareness about the deadly intersections, many people are now sharing their own experiences.

Allison Anderson’s parents almost died there in June of 2019, when a gravel truck was crossing the median and T-boned their car.

“The gravel truck didn’t stop at the median here and kept going,” Anderson said. “It sent their car flying into the ditch four or five times. My mom has vivid memories of that, and my dad has zero memories of the collision.”

Anderson’s mom was rushed to hospital by ambulance, and her dad was airlifted. They both survived, but their vehicle was mangled.

Ron Loree’s son was 17 years old when his truck was hit and caught fire. He made it out alive but was injured.

“He is still nervous driving the highway here,” Loree said.

Global News reached out to the province for comment but never heard back. Korrall did get a response from her local MLA Shane Getson, who said in a Facebook message he will be pushing for “an engineers solution to mitigate safety risks.”

Korrall just hopes something is done soon, before another person is serious injured or killed.

“How many people have to lose their life? How many people have to go through this traumatic experience before something is done?”