100 Car Pile-Up in Alberta; One Driver Criminally Charged

Although I live and practice in London, ON, I am originally from Edmonton, AB.  So, with a tragic sense of shock and awe, I read about the 100 car pile-up on Highway 2 near my hometown of Edmonton, AB.  According to an article in today’s National Post, a young woman and two children were killed with many others suffering from a range of injuries.  The full article can be found at:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/22/three-dead-hundreds-injured-after-a-day-of-extreme-weather-around-edmonton-area/

According to this article, the multiple-car crash was caused by a head-on collision between a compact car (carrying the deceased) and a truck driver, who is now facing criminal charges.  Among those criminal charges is the “Dangerous operation of motor vehicles…causing death.”  (Section 249(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada).  If convicted of this charge, the truck driver could be facing up to 14 years of imprisonment.

Searching through other news articles, I could not find many more details other than what was reported by the National Post article.  All of the articles, however, repeated the official warnings to stay off of the roads unless absolutely necessary.

From London, ON to all of my fellow Albertans: be safe, stay warm, and stay home if you can.