The families involved in a collision in Mapleton Township that resulted in the deaths of five young children have hired a personal injury law firm.
A SUV collided with a van at the intersection of 4th Line and Wellington Road 12, north of Kitchener, Ont., on June 12.
Of the 10 people in the van, eight were members of the Doerksen family. Five of their children were killed: 12-year-old Peter, 10-year-old Helena, 8-year-old Sara, 6-year-old Maggie and 4-year-old Susy. Their parents and 15-month-old brother were also hurt in the crash, along with fellow passengers Peter and Elisabeth Bartsch.
The Doerksen and Bartsch families have now retained the services of Greg Monforton & Partners. The Windsor, Ont. firm announced the move on July 23 in a post on their website.
“The collision is believed to have occurred when an SUV failed to obey a stop sign and struck the victims’ vehicle,” they alleged.
The driver of the SUV, a 42-year-old man from Brampton, died in hospital from his injuries.
Investigating the crash
CTV News reached out to the Ontario Provincial Police for an update on the case.
“The investigation into this collision remains ongoing,” Sgt. Ed Sanchuk said in an email.
The cause of the crash not been released.
The law firm also intends to look into what happened that fateful day.
“We like to collect information while memories are fresh,” explained managing partner Joanna Sweet. “We’re simply looking for additional information and for information that maybe the family can have now, rather than waiting for the outcome of the police investigation. These things take time, as they need to. That’s common, that’s appropriate. But the family is wanting answers.”
The firm’s investigation is just the first step.
“Depending on the results of that investigation, we’re not ruling out the potential of a lawsuit. But that’s not what’s being commenced at this time,” Sweet said. “The family has lived through one of the worst things any of us can imagine. So, to have some better understanding, to help them reach some closure, to help them better understand what happened on that night would be very meaningful to them.”
They are also acting as an intermediary for the victims.
“The families are very grateful for all of the community support that they’ve received and all the well-wishes,” Sweet said. “They appreciate that people are respecting their privacy during this time and ask that further inquiries go through our office, because they want some privacy while they mourn. None of us can imagine how tragic this is for the people who are living through it.”
