A Friday evening head-on collision on Highway 21 has taken the lives of three people and sent three others, including two children, to hospital.
The crash occured at approximately 6:00 p.m. near the intersection of Highway 21 and Township Road 310.
According to RCMP, a southbound truck pulling a bobcat on a trailer collided with a northbound pickup towing a horse trailer.and the two vehilces were engulfed in flames.
The occupants of the southbound truck consisted of a 69-year-old man, his son-in-law, and his two grandchildren. The 69-year-old assisted his grandchildren in exiting the truck through the driver side window before losing his own life. The man's son-in-law and two grandchildren suffered injuries in the crash and were transported to hospital. One of the grandchildren was airlifted by STARS from the Three Hills Hospital to a hospital in Calgary.
The conditions of the man and his two children have not been released.
The two people in the northbound truck were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. One of the horses died in the collision and the second horse is receiving treatment for burns.
“This is a horrific crash because the resulting fire," says Sgt. Pat Neely of the RCMP. "The vehicles almost instantly erupted into fire. Ignited with one and spread to both because of the nature of the head-on collision the vehicles were entangled so the fire quickly spread.”
Alcohol and speed are not believed to have factored in the collision. Investigators believe a mechanical failure may have contributed to the crash.
The highway remain closed until 6:00 a.m., Saturday morning.
