The family of a 33-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman who were killed in a crash on a central Alberta highway last month is pleading for people to drive safely, especially ahead of a long weekend that is typically a busy one on provincial roads.
“If you’re going to hop behind the wheel this weekend, please … use your head,” Lawrence Junior Konchinew told Global News on Tuesday.
His brother, Kean Myron Konchinew, and mother, Shirley Rose Konchinew, were killed on the night of April 2 in the area of Highway 21 and Township Road 502 in Leduc County. The RCMP said the car they were travelling in was involved in a collision with an SUV. The driver of that vehicle was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
According to police, an investigation is ongoing and they are looking at whether impaired driving may have played a role in the crash.
Memorials have been erected near the site of the crash.
“People who have their mums out there, love them, hug them, because I don’t (have a mother now),” Konchinew said. “It’s tough.”
Kari Lynn Konchinew said her brother left four young daughters behind when he was killed in the crash.
“Now they have to grow up without him,” she said.
Police said he was living in Camrose with his mother at the time of his death and that his mother was helping to raise his children.
Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said about 250 people died on Alberta roadways patrolled by the RCMP each year.
He said the contributing factors vary in many crashes, especially on long weekends when there is typically more congestion on highways.
Savinkoff said the RCMP is reminding people to be careful on Alberta highways, especially during the busy Victory Day long weekend ahead.
“It’s kind of that first big long weekend of the year where we’ll see a mass influx of traffic going to the mountains,” he said, adding that a significant portion of fatal crashes that Mounties respond to involve impaired driving.
“Don’t drink and drive. Have a plan if you’re going to drink,” he said.
— With files from Global News’ Kendra Slugoski