On Friday afternoon May 23rd, around 4:30, an SUV driven by teacher, Matt Eckert, and carrying four teenage girls, collided with a tractor trailer at the intersection of Cobble Hills Road and Thorndale Road.
The Bluewater District School Board (BWDSB) issued a statement Saturday afternoon, saying that “… four secondary students and one staff member from Walkerton District Community School had passed away tragically in a motor vehicle collision on Friday afternoon while returning from a sporting event near London.”
According to the Ontario Provincial Police, the five victims were in an SUV that collided with a transport truck and another SUV in the intersection of Thorndale Road and Cobble Hills Road, northeast of London, around 4:40 p.m. on Friday, May 23rd.
Police say a 33-year-old man was transported to hospital with serious life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced deceased, two 17-year-old females and a 16-year-old female were pronounced deceased on scene. The fifth passenger, a 16-year-old female, was airlifted to hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.
The two occupants of the second SUV and the driver of the transport truck sustained minor injuries.
In an email to families of WDCS students, Principal Roselyn Clancy and Vice-Principals Kim Darroch-Hopkins and Brayden Scott shared the news with “heartbreaking sadness.”
“We have received confirmation that four secondary students and one staff member passed away tragically yesterday (Friday) afternoon in a motor vehicle collision while returning from a sporting event near London. The impact of this devastating loss of life resonates throughout our entire school and the broader community. These students and the staff member will be deeply missed by many.”
According to the School Board, “In the days and weeks ahead, we will be doing everything we can to support our students, staff, and school community as we collectively attempt to come to terms with this news. Members of our board’s Tragedy Response Team will be at the school on Monday, and throughout the week, to provide grief counselling and one-on-one support to any students and staff who are struggling. Safe spaces will be available within the school. We recognize that grief is unique for every individual and will be closely monitoring students and staff closest to this loss, or who have recently experienced loss. Remember, we are stronger together and here for each other.”
School officials also said they will be making grief counsellors available for students and staff.
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