Calls to expand emergency services along deadly highway
Posted May 4, 2012 8:02 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
People who travel Highway 63 in Northern Alberta are calling on the Redford government to address what they call a shortage of first responders.
On Friday April 27th, seven people died in a head-on crash on that busy stretch of road running north of Edmonton to the oilsands in Fort McMurray.
Dion Lefebvre tells 660News he not only saw the wreck in his rearview mirror, but could feel the impact of the crash in the cab of his moving truck.
Lefebvre says he and a co-worker pulled over and ran to the wreckage, helping pull three people from the fiery debris.
Among the survivors was three-year-old Timothy Wheaton, who lost his parents and younger brother.
Lefebvre says they waited almost an hour for first responders to arrive.
He says he won’t let his staff at Westlock Movers drive Highway 63 on Thursdays and Sundays because of heavy volume and dangerous conditions.
The Globe and Mail reports a volunteer fire station in Wandering River, which is near the crash site, was shut down a couple of years ago.
The province has promised to hire four full-time responders to monitor and patrol the busy corridor, but those positions have yet to be filled.
The government is also committed to twinning the road, but that work is expected to take several more years to complete.
