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Three people travelling in a P.E.I. ambulance have died after the emergency vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a transport truck near the Confederation Bridge in New Brunswick Tuesday morning, RCMP say.
New Brunswick RCMP confirmed in an email to CBC News that a 77-year-old woman from Montague, P.E.I.; a 56-year-old man from Warren Grove, P.E.I.; and a 23-year-old woman from Nine Mile Creek, P.E.I., died at the scene.
According to a Facebook post by P.E.I. emergency services, Island EMS, two of the victims were paramedics and the other was a patient in their care. The statement did not disclose their identities.
The driver of the transport truck, whose age or identity was not disclosed, was brought to hospital with what police believe are non-life-threatening injuries.
Members of the Sackville RCMP detachment first responded to reports of a two-vehicle collision at 9:11 a.m. AT Tuesday morning in Melrose, a community in Strait Shores about 12 km southwest of the bridge.
The 56-year-old man was driving the ambulance, while RCMP described the others as passengers in the vehicle. Their identities have not been disclosed by police.
Police say they believe the driver of the ambulance was travelling westbound when the collision occurred.
“Our thoughts are with the families involved and with the entire first responder community during this difficult time,” Codiac Regional RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Luc Picard wrote in the email.
Island EMS encouraged community members not to speculate on what happened in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon, which said, “Out of respect for those involved and their loved ones, we ask that our community honour those affected without speculation, but instead with compassion and patience as they navigate the difficult days ahead.”
‘All Islanders are grieving,’ P.E.I Premier says
Premier of P.E.I., Rob Lantz, called the incident a “tragic loss” in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Today, all Islanders are grieving,” he wrote. “Prince Edward Island is a small province, and losses like this are felt deeply. Today, we stand together in grief.”
He noted that the paramedics who lost their lives dedicated themselves to helping others, and that each of their shifts “began with the hope of helping someone through one of the most difficult moments of their life.”
He also offered sympathies to the loved ones affected by the loss of the patient who died in their care.
Three people are dead after a two-vehicle collision on Route 16 in southeast New Brunswick. RCMP say a fourth person, the driver of a transport truck, was sent to hospital with serious injuries.
Jodi Boland, who lives on Route 16 near Upper Cape Road, said she saw smoke from her home’s window Tuesday morning. When she went outside, she said she saw two ambulances, two fire trucks and “a lot” of police cars.
Picard said police are investigating the collision, and that no further information will be released at this time. Both vehicles were sent for mechanical inspection.
Although the roundabout near the community of Port Elgin is now open, part of Route 16 near Melrose remains closed to traffic.
N.B. paramedics hoping to help fill in for P.E.I.
Chris Hood, executive director of the Paramedic Association of New Brunswick, said it was a tragic day for everyone involved.
He said his organization has been trying to organize a way for New Brunswick paramedics to help backfill positions in P.E.I., “so that those individuals that have close contact and close collaboration with the deceased are able to have the time necessary to recover from and to deal with the stress involved with this kind of an incident.”
Hood said being a paramedic is a close-knit profession, estimating that New Brunswick has about 1,300 while P.E.I. has 150 to 200.
“They may have gone to school together. They probably spend time away from work together in community settings and they live in the same community,” Hood said of the P.E.I. paramedics that are grieving Tuesday’s loss.
“It’s a profession that has risks with it. And this highlights that risk ever more clearly,” he said.
“I think that from our perspective, the most important piece for this is getting through the immediate term, and getting our colleagues in Prince Edward Island the relief they need to allow them to grieve…”
