Two Didsbury teens killed in a single-vehicle rollover south of Carstairs near Crossfield on Wednesday afternoon were both Didsbury High School students, say officials.
“We are deeply saddened,” Chinook’s Edge School Division (CESD) superintendent Kurt Sacher told Great West Media in an interview on Thursday.
“The students were well connected to the student body of Didsbury High so it will have a significant impact on the students. Our staff will certainly be devastated by the loss.
“I can confirm that they are students from Didsbury High School.”
The school and division will be offering grief and mental health support for any student needing or wanting it, he said.
“Certainly we will have additional resources available as needed from a family school wellness point of view,” he said. “In the meantime we certainly encourage families and students to reach out to the Kids Help Line and mental health supports available in the community.”
He declined to say what grades the students were in.
Asked if the school will be having a ceremony once classes resume in early January, he said, “That’s something the community typically deals with. We don’t typically get into that.”
Shortly after 5 p.m. on Dec. 27, Didsbury RCMP received a report of a collision on Township Road 292 and Range Road 14 in Mountain View County near Crossfield.
“Upon arrival, emergency responders located two deceased people who have been identified as a 16-year-old male and a 14-year-old female, both residents of Didsbury,” said RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff.
Two Didsbury teens that died in a single-vehicle rollover south of Carstairs, near Crossfield, Wednesday appear to have been unrestrained in their seats, say police.
Neither the 16-year-old male or 14-year-old female appeared to have been wearing seatbelts at the time of Wednesday's crash, said RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff.
“What I see personally is that with a lot of these single vehicle rollover collisions, this is where seatbelts can be the most effective,” Savinkoff said.
He warned that drivers and passengers should wear seatbelts whenever travelling in motor vehicles.
At about 5:08 p.m. on Wednesday, Didsbury RCMP received a report of a collision on Township Road 292 and Range Road 14 in Mountain View County.
Names of the deceased have not been released but police say that the individuals were not related.
The vehicle involved was a pickup truck.
While the investigation into the crash continues, speed and alcohol have been ruled out as possible causes, said Savinkoff.
“Road conditions were fine,” he added.
The investigation will involve several factors, according to Savinkoff.
“It’s a single vehicle rollover, so typically we are going to look at the roadway itself and skid marks and so forth to try to determine a speed and what could have led to the rollover itself,” he said.
With notes from Dan Singleton - Town and Country Today
