ALBERTA — A pickup truck stolen from Lashburn, Sask., has been linked to a fatal collision near Cold Lake, Alta., that left a five-year-old girl dead and several members of her family injured, according to RCMP.
The crash happened just after 10 p.m. on Jan. 13 on Highway 897 at the Beaver River Bridge. Emergency crews arrived to find a severely damaged mini-van with four occupants. A five-year-old girl in the van died at the scene. A 10-month-old boy, their 27-year-old mother and a 30-year-old man were taken to hospital with various injuries.
RCMP say the other vehicle involved, a Ford F-350, had been reported stolen three days earlier in Lashburn. After the collision, one of the suspects stole a vehicle belonging to a passerby who had stopped to help.
As information about the crash came in, the Alberta RCMP Real Time Operations Centre coordinated a large-scale response. Traffic officers, the Criminal Collision Investigative Team, a collision analyst, and members from multiple detachments.
Officers from Cold Lake Detachment and their General Investigative Section (GIS), Bonnyville Detachment, Elk Point Detachment, Police Dog Services, Eastern Alberta District (EAD) Crime Reduction Unit and GIS Units also joined the search for the suspects.
Around 11 p.m., officers located the Good Samaritan’s stolen vehicle, abandoned. Patrols then shifted to properties associated with known prolific offenders.
At about 1 a.m. on Jan. 14, officers found another stolen vehicle, this one with a shotgun visible inside, parked outside one such home. Investigators say evidence has since linked at least one person at that property to the original crash scene. Additional stolen items were also recovered, prompting a parallel investigation unrelated to the collision.
“The initial efforts of our officers have not only led to the charges you see today but also produced a significant amount of evidence to support the investigation, the death of a child, “ says Superintendent Tony Hanson, Assistant District Officer, EAD, “The coordinated response starting with our Real Time Operations Centre utilizing our support units and detachments was crucial in the immediate apprehension of this suspect.”
Alberta RCMP charged a 34-year-old man from Bonnyville with multiple offences, including failing to stop at an accident causing death, two counts of failing to stop at accident scene causing bodily harm, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, theft of a vehicle, failing to comply with probation order, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and four counts of possession of a firearm contrary to order.
He has been remanded in custody and appears in Alberta Court of Justice in St. Paul on Jan. 15. Police say he was already on bail for breaching a probation order at the time of the incident.
