Alleged drunk driver charged in the deaths of 3 First Nation boys

NELSON HOUSE, Man. — A small, tight-knit northern Manitoba First Nation was in mourning Monday after three boys who loved to play together and go ice fishing were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver.

RCMP said Mateo Moore-Spence, Terrence Spence and Keithan Lobster, all between 11 and 13, were walking and riding bikes Saturday night when they were hit on a road near Nelson House, about 850 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

“They were always together, every day,” Curtis Lobster, Keithan’s uncle, said Monday.

“They did what kids do, right? Sliding, ice fishing, playing like kids.”

Lobster said his nephew had been struggling in school after the death of his mother last year. The death was ruled a suicide, but the family is not convinced and wants the investigation reopened, he said.

“In January, [Keithan] enrolled in this program called cultural program where they teach kids how to hunt, fish, snare rabbits, make snowshoes — live traditionally.

“His last words to me were: ‘Uncle, I’m going to be like you. I’m going to graduate from college.’ He was a good kid. He approached anybody [and] he was very approachable.”

“Everybody knew them. They were really close to my grandsons,” said Marcel Moody, chief of Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, which includes Nelson House.

Moody said that when he told his grandson that his friends had died, the nine-year-old broke into tears and said, “I lost my best bros.”

Todd Norman Linklater, 27, is facing numerous charges, including impaired driving causing death and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

There is no way to make sense of such a horrible tragedy that has touched everyone, Moody said.

In a community of 2,500 residents, many people know both the kids and the accused.

“We have mixed emotions — anger, confusion, frustration,” Lobster said.

“I knew the [accused] guy quite well. I got along with the guy. All in all, he’s actually a good guy, but when I heard he was [allegedly] drinking and driving, it angered me.”

A woman who lives near the crash site also knew the boys and ran out to help Saturday night.

“It was a very traumatic situation as these children are my son’s friends,” said Roslyn Moore.

“In those moments, all I could think about was reaching the kids and doing what I could to help, including halting traffic. I was hampered because of poor cell service in that area as well as by the lack of lighting.”

Classes were cancelled at the community’s schools on Monday morning as teachers came to terms with losing three students and prepared to connect others with grief counsellors in the afternoon. Staff from Otetiskewin Kiskinwamahtowekamik School, which has about 530 students, held a sharing circle.

“It’s a very close-knit school,” said principal Matilda Gibb. “There is a lot of shock and disbelief.”