Truck driver charged after crash kills five
Sunday, December 9th, 2007Excessive speed and alcohol are said to be to blame in a crash that killed a couple and their three children.
Police have laid charges against the 50-year-old driver of the cement truck that was northbound on Macleod Trail when it struck a car stopped at a red light about 7 p.m. Friday.
Police say it’s the city’s single deadliest crash in recent memory. Insp. Guy Slater said the occupants of the car had been visiting people south of the city prior to the crash.
The fact evidence suggests speed and alcohol are factors in the crash underscores the senselessness of the tragedy, Slater said.
Witnesses reported seeing the truck being driven erratically and speeding minutes prior to it slamming into the car at an intersection. The force demolished the car, pushing it about 300 metres and killing everyone inside — the 41-year-old man driving, a 33-year-old woman and three children.
The youngsters, all properly restrained in the back seat, were six-year-old and nine-year-old girls and a 16-month-old boy.
The Truck driver was unhurt. The daughter-in-law of the accused said his family is waiting for answers and reeling at news of the deadly crash. She said her father-in-law is a longtime driver, a father of three married for 30 years.
“We feel so sorry for the other family,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “We’re pretty devastated and really feel for them. It’s a pretty awful time right now.”
The truck driver is charged with five counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and refusing to provide a breath sample. He is to appear in court Thursday.
