An SUV seemed to come out of nowhere when it slammed into a tractor-trailer unit north of Barriere, killing an Edmonton family of four, says the driver of the truck.
One RCMP officer called the scene of the crash “horrific.”
The head-on collision happened about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday as the family was en route to California.
An investigation into the accident is underway, but police believe the family’s southbound Suzuki Grand Vitara spun out of control and slid across Highway 5 into the oncoming tractor-trailer unit.
The occupants of the SUV — Benham Shokri, a 47-year-old man, Shirin Hamedi Khorasani, a 37-year-old woman, Daniel Shokri, a six-year-old boy and Delina Shokri, a three-year-old girl — died in the crash.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve Frayne said Thursday the driver of the semi suffered minor injuries.
“It’s a difficult one,” he told The Daily News in describing the scene that greeted police and ambulance crews.
According to a cab driver who talked to the truck driver after the collision, the trucker said the vehicle came from out of nowhere.
“He sees the car in front of him . . . just like eight feet away,” said the man, who did not want his name published. “It just came and turned and slid right in front of his truck.”
The driver checked on the passengers of the other vehicle. A woman was in the driver’s seat, and two children were in the back, he said.
The man said the truck driver was badly shaken and in shock. He said the driver told him he had a good driving record and was driving below the speed limit at the time of the collision.
RCMP Const. Bart Doerr was the first to arrive at the crash scene.
“It’s tough,” said Doerr, the father of two young children. “No words will explain a scene like that. It’s horrific.”
An 11-year veteran with the RCMP, Doerr said the crash scene was tough for emergency crews.
“It’s nothing that we want to have to attend to, but we have to, so you go in and do your best to deal with the situation and investigate it properly,” he said. “It’s actually very hard.”
Barriere Mayor Bill Humphreys said the SUV “looks like a piece of metal. You couldn’t tell the make.”
He said the crash left debris strewn along the road and rendered even the licence plate of the vehicle unrecognizable.
He and Frayne both said road conditions were poor after rain and then a drop in temperatures.
“Road conditions at the time of the accident were icy and typical for this time of year in this area,” Frayne said. “It is a devastating reminder for drivers to exercise caution on the roadways and to ensure vehicles are prepared for winter conditions.”
RCMP and other first responders have been offered stress debriefing and the trucker has been offered help from victim services.
The highway was closed for a time while police investigated the scene and the wreckage was cleared. It was open to traffic by Thursday morning.
Regional coroner Mark Coleman said the coroner’s service is also investigating.
With files from the Edmonton Journal, Vancouver Sun, and Vancouver Province.
