An unidentified man is dead and three others are in hospital after being thrown from a stolen car in Alexander early Friday morning
According to a press release, Morinville RCMP responded to a call about a rollover at about 2:30 a.m. Friday near range road 275 and highway 642. When police arrived, they found four people had been ejected from a car that had rolled about 60 meters off the road.
One of them, a man, was pronounced dead on the scene. His name has been withheld until his relatives are notified of his death. The others had serious injuries and were taken to the University of Alberta Hospital, said Sgt. Chris Narbonne of the Morinville RCMP. All four were Edmonton residents.
Police have determined the vehicle was reported stolen from Edmonton, but have not laid any charges. They have yet to discover the cause of the crash, but suspect speed was a factor. None of the people in the car were wearing seatbelts.
Highway 642 runs through the Alexander reserve and meets range road 275 about halfway through the band’s land. It is a single-lane divided highway with no streetlights. The road was dry, paved and clear at the time of the crash, Narbonne said, as was the weather.
Police have no witnesses to the crash apart from those involved, Narbonne said. Two of them are in comas, while the fourth has a broken back and doesn’t want to talk about the event. As they don’t know who was driving the car, police have yet to lay any charges or determine if alcohol was involved.
This is not the first time that a man has died on highway 642 in the reserve. Dean Lafleche, a 22-year-old father of four who lived on the reserve, died while walking along the side of that road on the night of Aug. 30, 2007, when he was struck by an oncoming car. The driver of that car later turned himself in to police.
