Police are investigating possible mechanical failure after three people and a horse were killed in a “horrifying,” fiery head-on vehicle crash near Three Hills on Friday.
One of the victims who died, a 69-year old Linden-area man, is being hailed as a hero. He helped his grandchildren escape from a burning truck after two pickups collided and burst into flames just after 6 p.m. on Hwy 21, about 10 km south of Three Hills.
Witnesses told Beiseker RCMP Sgt. Patricia Neely that the grandfather was trapped inside a pickup, but managed to manoeuvre to reach his grandchildren in the backseat. He assisted in getting the children out the driver’s side window into the arms of their father (his son-in-law), who had previously escaped from the truck.
The four family members had been travelling in a southbound pickup, which was hauling a bobcat on a trailer, said Neely.
While a Calgary newspaper reported that the 69-year-old crash victim was a former Linden volunteer firefighter, and that his son was an emergency responder who arrived at the crash scene, this could not be confirmed on Sunday.
Neely would only say that according to witnesses, the grandfather put the lives of his grandchildren above his own survival.
The son-in-law and grandchildren who had been travelling with him were rushed to hospital with burns and are expected to live, she added.
The other two crash victims from the other vehicle have not yet been identified by police. Neely said they will have to use dental records.
The two had been travelling in a northbound pickup that was hauling two horses in a trailer. One of the animals also died at the scene.
“You can imagine, with so many people and the two horses, that it was very traumatic and chaotic,” said Neely. “It was a very horrifying crash.”
RCMP investigators ruled out speed and alcohol as factors.
They are investigating whether something went mechanically wrong with the steering of one of the vehicles. Neely could not say how the crash occurred until collision analysts finish their investigation.
RCMP officers from Three Hills and Beiseker were at the scene with paramedics, firefighters and Victims Services workers. That section of Hwy 21 was closed until early Saturday morning.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com