Man faces speed, alcohol charges in fatal crash
Girl, 11, riding in minivan killed instantly
There was a lot of work that went into the dynamics of the collision
An Okotoks man is facing nine driving charges related to a collision in southeast Calgary that killed an 11-year-old girl.
Karl Schwarz, 29, is charged with impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death and driving over .08 causing death in the Sept. 20 crash.
He faces six more charges for the same offences, but for causing bodily harm.
Police allege Schwarz was impaired and speeding when he ran a red light in his Ford pickup and collided with a Mazda minivan at the intersection of 52nd Street S.E. and Erin Woods Drive.
An 11-year-old girl travelling in the minivan was killed instantly.
SGT. COLIN FOSTER
A 53-year-old man and a 40-yearold woman — the girl’s parents — suffered serious injuries.
Sgt. Colin Foster of the police traffic unit said the complexity of the investigation prevented charges being laid sooner.
“There was a lot of work that went into the dynamics of the collision. There were five (officers) working on it at one time trying to come up with the appropriate speeds for the vehicles involved.
“As the vehicles collided, the Ford flipped over, it rolled on its side. All these things had to be taken into account with our calculations. It does become quite complex and that’s why it takes a little bit longer.”
Police believe the driver of the pickup was impaired and driving at a high rate of speed in a 50 km/h zone, Foster said.
“When we take all those factors into account, this collision was totally avoidable.”
Schwarz, who suffered minor injuries in the crash, was arrested at the scene and charged Feb. 7.
He was co-operative throughout the investigation, Foster said.
“He has shown quite a lot of remorse.”
Schwarz is due to appear in court in the next three weeks, Foster said.