Parents of 5 kids die in crash

A Red Deer couple with five children was killed early Sunday morning after a suspected drunk driver rammed into their small car at an intersection on the city’s south side.

The fatal collision — Red Deer’s first in 15 months — happened in the middle of the night so traffic would have been fairly quiet.

The pickup truck was southbound on 30th Avenue, past East Hills Shopping Centre, when it struck the eastbound car on the driver’s side at Ironstone Drive and 30th Avenue.

RCMP and Red Deer Emergency Services rushed to the scene after getting 911 calls at about 2 a.m.

Police spokeswoman Const. Sabrina Grunow said on Sunday that several nearby residents heard the crash.

An ambulance arrived on scene, but there was nothing more fire-medics could do for the 35-year-old female driver and the 34-year-old male passenger.

“They were pronounced dead on the scene,” Grunow said.

Both had been wearing seatbelts.

Grunow said these kinds of scenes are never easy for police to deal with.

“It’s hard on all involved, whether it’s a witness, emergency services or police,” she said.

“It’s very upsetting to see a double fatal.”

Police say alcohol was a factor in the collision.

Police said the two victims were related.

A friend of the family, who asked not to be named, said the couple was married and that they had five children.

RCMP traffic analysts were on scene shortly after to try and determine exactly what occurred. RCMP Traffic Services Criminal Collision Investigation Team was called in as well.

The male driver and lone occupant of the pickup truck was treated and released from hospital.

Police say the 22-year-old man has been arrested. He hails from Sedalia, a hamlet found 150 km northeast of Brooks in Southern Alberta.

The driver was awaiting a judicial hearing on Sunday to see if he would be released or not.

Charges have not yet been laid.

Grunow said the investigation will also look into who had the green traffic light at the time. Traffic lights were recently installed at the intersection.

Police will also check road and weather conditions at the time. Speed will also be considered.

“It will be a lengthy investigation,” said Grunow.

The impact of the collision was so forceful that it heavily damaged the driver’s side of the car.

Relatively newer models of vehicles are engineered so that the exterior is supposed to take the brunt of the collision. The car was a 2000 model.

Grunow said the “engineered life space” of the car, which includes the interior components like steering wheel column and the engine block, are supposed to not get pushed inside the car.

But in this case, the interior of the car couldn’t sustain the impact.

Eyewitnesses to the collision are being sought.

Red Deer’s last fatal crash happened in late November 2008. A 23-year-old woman died after her pickup truck hit a guard rail and rolled several times off Spruce Drive.

ltester@reddeeradvocate.com