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Written by Canadian Press
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Saturday, November 21 2009, 10:05 PM |
Only a child found strapped in its car seat survived a horrific head-on crash which killed four adults Saturday afternoon about 75 kilometres south of Calgary.
Two small cars were driving in opposite directions around noon when one lost control, leading to the deadly collision, said RCMP Cpl. A.J. Mand.
A northbound car came around a corner along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway about two kilometres north of Nanton, veered into the grassy centre median and collided with a southbound vehicle.
Three people in the northbound car died while an adult in the southbound car also did not survive.
All were pronounced dead at the scene.
The child was airlifted by air ambulance to Calgary for treatment.
“The baby is OK, “ Mand said. “It was rushed to hospital and is doing fine. The child’s OK, it was in a car seat.”
Mounties did not specify the age or gender of the youngster.
Mand said they are looking into whether the others were wearing seatbelts at the time of the deadly crash.
He estimated the victims are aged 20 to 30. Their names and genders have not been released.
Now police are trying to determine what caused the tragic chain of events.
“We’re not sure what caused the accident,” said Mand. “The weather was good, the road was good.”
Both vehicles were extensively damaged in the crash, one nearly cut in two.
The northbound car, the top half covered by a large tarp and appearing seemingly flattened, ended up sitting wheels-up about 30 metres of the highway’s southbound lanes.
Traffic in the area was snarled and rerouted for hours while investigators scoured the scene.
Saturday’s crash is one of several tragedies on southern Alberta highways in recent months to result in multiple fatalities. On Aug. 26, three people — including a 17-year-old driver — died after their minivan crossed into the path of a semi-trailer near Strathmore.
And in July, two children and three adults from the Blood Tribe near Lethbridge were killed after the pickup truck they were travelling in slammed into a backhoe.
(Calgary Sun)
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