Friend helps Jasper crash survivors reunite with loved ones

EDMONTON — When Louisiana businessperson Ronnie Remedies got a text message saying his friends had been involved in a deadly crash in Alberta's scenic Jasper National Park, he says it was like being punched in the stomach.

But then Remedies, a commercial real estate developer who also owns Shreveport Limousine, sprang to action to help bring the loved ones of Curtis and Angela Elkins to Edmonton, where survivors of the collision were hospitalized.

"Without even knowing how far it was, I said I'd make it happen," Remedies said from aboard his private plane in Edmonton Thursday.

"I immediately began to scramble and rearrange the rest of my schedule."

Six people died in the crash, which happened about 5 p.m. Tuesday on the Icefields Parkway about 60 kilometres south of the Jasper townsite.

RCMP say a van carrying five members of a family from Louisiana and Texas was heading north when it collided with a southbound vehicle, causing both to catch fire.

Angela Elkins and her son-inlaw Nick Copeland died, says a Facebook post from Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson. Elkins' husband, Curtis, and daughter, Sarah, were taken to hospital in Edmonton in serious condition.

A toddler, Sarah and Nick Copeland's son Will, survived with no injuries. All four people in the second vehicle were killed, but no details were immediately available about their identities.

The two got to know each other about five years ago through their work in the wedding industry.