Two teenagers are dead and another is in critical condition following a head-on crash in Moncton, N.B., Monday night.
RCMP, fire and ambulance crews responded to a report of a collision involving two vehicles at the intersection of Berry Mills Road and Zack Road around 7:25 p.m.
Police believe the crash happened when a car crossed the centre of the road and collided head-on with an SUV.
Both vehicles had five people inside them.
Police say 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old man who were passengers in the car died at the scene.
A 14-year-old boy reportedly suffered minor injuries, and a 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital and is believed to be in critical condition.
The driver, a 25-year-old man, was taken to hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say he was later arrested as part of the ongoing investigation.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Luc Picard wouldn’t comment on charges or whether or not the 25-year-old was still in custody.
The five people in the SUV were all taken to hospital with what are believed to be minor injuries.
They range in age from 24 to 72 and are all from Arkansas, U.S.
A member of the New Brunswick Coroner’s Office also attended the scene.
Police say autopsies have been scheduled for the two deceased victims.
The investigation into the collision is ongoing.
A section of Berry Mills Road was closed for several hours while investigators processed the scene.
It has since reopened.
An RCMP crash reconstruction team could be seen near the crash site Tuesday morning.
Moncton Fire Department Deputy Chief Keith Guptill said firefighters knew it was a very severe collision as soon as they arrived and a peer support team was contacted even before they went back to the station.
“We’re going to meet the crews at their station and talk through this,” Guptill said. “We call it a diffusing. Last night would be mostly the opportunity to allow everyone to talk about it and how they feel about it and what they see.
“None of my folks were in danger last night physically, but the bigger part of that problem is the mental health aspect of that and how it can wear on them and there are things that we see that we can’t unsee or things that we experience. It’s part of what we do, but we do need to make sure we have coping mechanisms.”
School district responds
Anglophone East School District says the victims who died were students at Harrison Trimble High School.
The critically injured 16-year-old also attends Harrison Trimble High School.
The injured 14-year-old attends Riverview High School.
“The impact of this tragedy extends across several of our school communities, as the students involved have connections, friendships and relationships with students and staff at a number of schools throughout our district,” reads a statement.
“School teams will be attentive to students who may be struggling with this news and will help connect them with appropriate support.”
‘Hard to see’
Ada Bergeron lives in the area and was driving her son home from hockey Monday night right around the time of the crash.
“We probably missed it by maybe five or 10 minutes. They were just putting the fire out in the truck. There were clothes, laundry baskets, plastic all over the road. There was a lot of debris and unfortunately there was someone that was laying on the road, so that was hard to see,” said Bergeron.
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