Kids hurt after SUV crashes into power pole

Mounties say an SUV that crashed into a power pole on a highway west of Bassano was loaded with young children who weren’t properly restrained, resulting in a oneyear-old being flown to hospital with serious injuries.

Emergency crews were called to a single-vehicle rollover about 9 a.m. Saturday on Hwy. 550 near Range Rd. 170, about 21 kilometre west of the southern Alberta town.

Bassano RCMP said the Toyota Sequoia hit the ditch on the north side of the highway before striking and severing a power pole. The vehicle eventually rolled, coming to rest on its roof.

Of the SUV’s nine occupants, eight were children under 12 and investigators said not all of the youngsters were secured properly with seatbelts. The maximum seating capacity of a Sequoia is eight.

Following the crash, a one-yearold child was airlifted to Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary with serious injuries.

Const. Krzysztof Noel said the injured toddler was in a child seat but was not buckled in at the time of the crash. He added the children in the vehicle belonged to two separate families and the driver, a parent, is now facing charges.

The remaining occupants, all of whom suffered minor injuries, were taken by ground ambulance to Bassano hospital.

“This collision highlights the importance of vehicle occupants being properly restrained in seat belts and child safety seats while travelling in a motor vehicle,” RCMP said in a release.