Community mourns tragic crash on Trans-Canada Highway

“Paramedics transported an adult female to Medicine Hat Hospital in serious and potentially life-threatening condition,” said Brideaux. “As well as a 12-year-old girl also in serious and life-threatening condition, another 12-year-old girl is in stable, non-life-threatening condition. And unfortunately, they did declare a 9-year-old female deceased as a result of this collision.”

All four are from the Chestermere area, while the three injured females remain in hospital.

A cause has not yet been determined as a collision reconstructionist continues to investigate the fatal crash.

Current traffic controls at the intersection include a stop sign for northbound drivers wanting to merge onto the Trans-Canada Highway.

Redcliff RCMP S/Sgt. Sean Maxwell said they aren’t able to say if the Highway 41 intersection is at a higher risk of collisions.

“We just work with Alberta Transportation in terms of dealing with general collisions at intersections,” said Maxwell. “But, any one particular intersection, it’s very difficult to specifically say that there’s issues in one spot or another.”

Despite the uncertainty, Maxwell confirmed it was a busy stretch of road over the course of the long weekend.

“It’s Highway 41 and an intersection with a couple of busy streets,” he said. “So, I can certainly tell you that there was a fair amount of traffic in the area at that time.”

We reached out to Cypress County, who stated they’ve been pushing for safety improvements at the intersection, but declined an interview request.

Maxwell added it’s a heart-breaking case for the entire southeast Alberta community.

“It’s just a very sad situation, and our hearts go out to the family and everybody involved.”

There are no charges pending, though police said that could change depending on the outcome of their investigation.

by Scott Roblin

Community mourns tragic crash on Trans-Canada Highway

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