Last Thursday’s heavy snowfall had a role to play in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 44 north of Flatbush that claimed the lives of three people from Slave Lake and injured three others.
At around 11 a.m. on March 21, a northbound Dodge truck collided head-on with a southbound Ford compact car about 10 kilometres north of Flatbush, near Township Road 672.
Christine Michaud, 23, four-year-old niece Hailie and one-year-old nephew Trent were killed in the collision. All three were occupants in the Ford.
Injured were Michaud’s sister-in-law Eran and another nephew, as well as the driver of the Dodge truck, Matthew Darren Kanzig, also from Slave Lake. All three were transported to hospital with serious injuries.
Westlock RCMP Cpl. Sandra Milner said Kanzig, 46, has been charged with three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and two counts of dangerous operation causing bodily harm.
Kanzig is scheduled to appear in Westlock Provincial Court on March 27.
Milner did not specify what actions constituted dangerous operation, explaining the collision was still under investigation as of March 22. She did say alcohol is not believed to be a factor.
However, she said the road conditions were a factor in the collision.
“The highway was in poor condition due to the heavy snow,” she said.
As a result of the collision, Highway 44 was closed to traffic between Highway 2 and Highway 663 until about 6 p.m., Milner said. Drivers wishing to travel through the collision scene were rerouted through Athabasca along Highway 663.
Emergency responders from the Slave Lake and Flatbush fire departments were on scene, as well as Alberta Health Services ambulances and RCMP from the Westlock, Slave Lake and Athabasca detachments.
Victim Services is helping the families of all the occupants through this difficult time, Milner said.
“This was a tragedy,” she said.
