Achi news desk-
Three people – including two teenagers – are dead and two others injured after a crash that has left the greater Fredericton, N.D., community shaken.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, two men, aged 22 and 17, and a woman, aged 16, died after the vehicle they were traveling in hit a curb along Douglas Avenue, which was a tree at the time, boarded a plane and landed on a parked vehicle. – where four residents were preparing to leave. Those four people had minor injuries.
Two other passengers – a 16-year-old man and a 14-year-old woman – were also injured. The 16-year-old is being treated for critical injuries at IWK hospital in Halifax.
“This is quite a tragedy. Three young individuals were killed in a single vehicle crash and one was taken to the IWK in critical condition,” said Fredericton Police Chief Martin Gaudet. “We have some accidents in our jurisdiction. There is no doubt. But we don’t have many deaths. Thank God. We certainly keep statistics. But this one is quite significant. It is a tragedy for the community. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare.”
Gaudet said speed was the main factor, but an investigation is ongoing to determine if any other factors were involved.
He said a criminal investigation was underway, but it had been difficult to determine who the driver was.
Critical incident stress management services have been deployed for first responders who were at the scene.
“For those of us who have been doing this job for a while, you go to those calls, you can’t ignore it,” Gaudet said.
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said it will take some time for the community to come to terms with the loss.
“When something like this happens in your city, you’re shocked. I think we’re all processing this right now, along with the community,” he said.
Some of the victims went to Fredericton’s Leo Hayes High School, where an emergency response team is now in place.
“Visiting the school this morning, it was clear that staff and students are in good hands and getting the support they need,” said David McTimoney, superintendent of the West Anglophone School District. “The support will remain in place for as long as it is needed. I’m sure the community shares our collective grief following this terrible accident.”
Gaudet said an officer tried to stop the vehicle when it passed them on a different street. They put their lights and sirens on, but lost them as they turned around to follow them. The accident happened a few minutes later.
That officer was located in the area because there had been a number of complaints from residents about speeding.
The Douglas Avenue area is a neighborhood where the speed limit is 50. It has bike lanes, small libraries and lots of young families.
Residents tell CTV News that speed has been an issue for some time.
Jamie Hunter lives across from where the accident happened. He says he has seen some vehicles going at least 80 kilometers per hour.
“It’s a residential neighborhood with children and people walking their dogs and I know nothing seems to be changing,” he said. “We really need, I think, the council and whoever oversees us to have a look at places like Douglas Avenue and other places in town, and how do we slow down traffic? How do we manage that? So we can avoid future problems like what just happened.”
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