CARDSTON — Police have confirmed a father and his three children were killed when the pickup truck they were in collided with a backhoe in southern Alberta.
RCMP say 28-year-old James Wells and his children, who were nine, six and one, died at the scene near Glenwood on Wednesday.
Also killed was 47-year-old Clement Wolf Plume, the father of two teenage sons, 15 and 16, who were treated in hospital and released.
The seven people from the Blood reserve were all in the truck that overturned after the collision and hit the ditch.
The backhoe operator was taken to hospital, but his injuries weren’t life-threatening.
Police say roads were clear and dry at the time, and speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash.
“Right now people are just trying to accept the fact that it happened, and everybody’s still quite in shock,” said Andrew Bull Calf, a councillor with the Blood Tribe.
The chief, Charles Weasel Head, was in Calgary at the Assembly of First Nations meeting and could not be reached for comment.
“It’s a real shock. My wife’s relative is one of the victims, so it’s twice as hard for us,” Bull Calf said.
Cardston RCMP continue their investigation into the crash, which happened on dry roads and clear skies.
RCMP said Thursday both vehicles overturned after the collision and entered the ditch.