Wellington crash kills teen girl, elderly man
A two-vehicle accident Sunday evening in Wellington has claimed a second life.
A 15-year-old girl who was a passenger in one car died after being transported by Lifeflight, an Emergency Heatlth Services helicopter, to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax with serious injuries, the RCMP reported Monday morning.
An 87-year-old man driving the other car died at the scene, on Highway 2 at Abilene Avenue.
“It’s horrible, it was a horrific night out here,” said a neighbour who wished to remain anonymous.
“We did hear the crash,” the neighbour said. “We heard a loud crash that I assumed had something to do with the train.”
The train track runs parallel to the highway.
RCMP said the 87-year-old man was the lone occupant in a 2005 Chevrolet Impala. The 15-year-old girl and three other youths were travelling in a Ford Focus. The driver, a 19-year-old man, was transported to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax by Lifeflight with serious injuries. A 13-year-old girl was transported to the IWK with non-life threatening injuries and a 19-year-old man was taken to the Dartmouth General Hospital with minor injuries.
“The gentleman in the Impala, I assume his foot was on the gas,” the neighbour said. “He was up against a guardrail and the car was revving. That was the noise we cold hear was the engine revving and revving and revving, and it caught fire.
“Our neighbours, we all ran for household fire extinguishers and tried to do what we could but the flames just took over. The car was pretty well engulfed and the fire department hadn’t arrived yet.”
The neighbour said the crash happened about 7:20 p.m., and the car was engulfed in flames within five minutes.
The RCMP were called to the scene immediately. An RCMP collision analyst examined the scene for evidence. The road remained closed for several hours. The investigation into the cause of the collision continues.
The neighbour said it appeared that both vehicles were travelling along Highway 2. The cars came to rest on opposite sides of the road.
That stretch of highway appears to be quite straight but the neighbour said there is a deceptive turn in the road at the point of the accident “that doesn’t look like much of a bend.”
Cpl. Dal Hutchinson of the RCMP took exception to descriptions of the accident posted immediately on social media.
“People need to stop and think twice about posting things online,” Hutchinson said. “One of the victims’ family members learned a family member was in the crash and rushed to the scene. They put a very detailed description of one of the vehicles (on social media) and possibly photos.”