Deadly highway crashes claim seven teenagers
Police say inexperience behind the wheel may have played a part
It was a routine phone call, a simple check-in to put a mother’s mind at ease. On Monday, Torry Mcintyre-Courville, an 18-year-old Sudbury native, dialed home from Toronto, where she and three friends had been visiting for New Year’s. “She said that she loved me,” Jennifer Saile, the teenager’s mother, told the Star. “She said we’d hear from her when she got home.” But Mcintyre-courville never made it back. She was killed Tuesday afternoon in a three-car collision on Highway 69, south of Shawanaga near Parry Sound, after the Honda Civic she was driving was struck by a vehicle that slid across the centre line. Her passenger and boyfriend, 19year-old Cole Howard, also of Sudbury, died later in hospital. The occupants of the other car, a Chevrolet Camaro — Jessica Chamberland, 18, of Sudbury, and her cousin Alyssa Mckeown, 17, of Barrie — also died at the scene. “They may as well have been sisters,” Rob Savard, an uncle, said on the phone from Barrie. “They were joined at the hip.” Chamberland, who hoped to become a teacher, studied at York University’s teacher’s college program at Georgian College. Mckeown, who was still in high school, wanted to be a nurse. The four were among seven teens killed Tuesday. Another crash, on Highway 17 near Hagar townships, west of North Bay, claimed the lives of two more 19-year-olds and one 18-yearold — all from Renfrew, Ont. — after the their Ford minivan collided with a Jeep Cherokee. In the Highway 69 crash, provincial police believe the Camaro hit a patch of black ice, sending the car into the opposite lane, where it collided with the Civic and a Chevrolet Optra. Optra driver Josephine Mckenchnie, 58, of Sudbury, was treated for minor injuries at the West Parry Sound Health Centre and released. OPP Insp. Mark Andrews said there is no indication alcohol was a factor and that each person involved wore a seatbelt. He did speculate, however, that a lack of driving experience played a role. “If you’re an experienced driver, you’re watching for (black ice),” An- drews said. “Some of our novice drivers aren’t watching. They don’t have the skill set to modify for that.”
The force of the collision was devastating, Andrews said.
“This was not a survivable crash,” he added.
An aspiring artist interested in sketching and photography, Mcintyre-courville planned on applying to the Ontario College of Art and Design in February. She lived with her grandparents in Lively, Ont., completing a high school work placement program at a nearby restaurant.
Fighting back tears, Saile remembered her daughter as “larger than life” and “well-spirited” — an avid Beatles fan whose favourite song was the soft acoustic tune “Blackbird.” The brown-eyed, brown- haired teen was a “best friend” to her 19-year-old brother and “hero” to her 9-year-old sister. “Everything she touched turned to gold,” Saile said. “She was strong and beautiful. She was my little girl.” Mcintyre-courville and Howard had started dating only days before the crash, said Nick Taillefer, Howard’s friend. Howard played drums in a Sudbury-based metal band called Sanctuaries, which toured extensively across Ontario, even gigging in Montreal. “He was outgoing, nice to everyone,” Taillefer said. “He was just a happy-go-lucky guy.” Police are still investigating both accidents.
“She said that she loved me. She said we’d hear from her when she got home.” JENNIFER SAILE MOTHER OF TORRY MCINTYRE-COURVILLE