The small, southwestern Ontario town of Walkerton is continuing to mourn the loss of four teenage athletes and their teacher, killed in a multi-vehicle crash outside London last week while returning home from a softball tournament.
The deadly collision on Friday has left the Bruce County community reeling and has prompted an outpouring of support for their friends and family.
Hundreds of Walkerton residents gathered on Sunday night for a candlelight vigil outside Walkerton District Community School, the K-12 school where the teenage girls, aged 16 and 17, studied, and where 33-year-old Matt Eckert worked as a teacher and coach.
“It’s an incredibly deep, deep scar this has inflicted on our community. It’s going to take a long time to heal,” said Chris Peabody, the mayor of Brockton, which includes Walkerton.
“We have, as a community, dealt with tragedy before, and small-town Ontario residents always rise up in the face of adversity and band together, and I know that will happen here.”
While the identities of the teenagers have not been released by police, the Tara Twins U18 girls softball team identified two of the victims online as Rowan McLeod and Kaydance Ford.
“Our entire Twins family is reeling from this loss, and our hearts go out to the families, friends and teammates of these beautiful athletes,” reads a Facebook post from the team, whose coach, it notes, is McLeod’s father.
“This tragedy hits harder for this association knowing that they were returning from playing the very sport of softball.”
‘Infectious smile and caring heart’
Eckert is being remembered not only as a teacher in Walkerton but also as the Junior B assistant coach for the NorthStars Lacrosse Club in Owen Sound.
“Our organization is heartbroken and crushed to lose an important member of our family. Matt connected with our players on a level that is indescribable,” a social media post from NorthStars’ general manager, Ethan Woods, reads.
“His infectious smile and caring heart are things that will never be forgotten. We love you so much Ecky.”
Flags outside the school and at other properties across the town have been lowered to half-mast. On Saturday night, many residents left porch lights on and running shoes outside to show support for the victims’ families.
Ahead of the vigil, community members visited Walkerton District Community School throughout the day on Sunday to add flowers and other mementos to a growing outdoor memorial.
Among those stopping by were other students, including Hayley Munro, 17, and Jasmine Huber, 16, who wanted to pay their respects.
Munro grew up with McLeod at the school, and the two were best friends from Grade 3 to Grade 8, she said.
“I think life just got in the way, but she was such a lovely person. We always talked about the big plans we had for our lives, and it hurts knowing that she won’t ever get to act on those plans.”
Ford, she added, was “very, very sweet, and she was so bubbly. Like, if she walked in a room, it would just light up the room.”
Huber now attends a different high school, but she recalled having had Eckert as a math teacher.
“He was a great teacher,” she said. “Like, even if kids were being not good, he’d get them in trouble, but he’d do it in, like, a fun way.”
Another student, Keegan Padfield, 15, said he left boots outside on Saturday night, just like many of his neighbours.
“He was a really nice guy,” he said of Eckert. “He likes to make a lot of jokes, and he’s always really nice with the students.”
Padfield said he knew the five victims largely through school sports, with Eckert as one of his coaches, and described the four girls as being kind to everyone.
“When I first started out in Grade 9, they were all really supportive and helping everybody improve,” he said.
OPP continue to investigate
The five victims had been returning home from the 27th annual Girls’ High School Invitational Slo-Pitch Tournament in Dorchester, Ont., when their SUV collided with a transport truck at Thorndale and Cobble Hills roads on Friday at about 4:30 p.m.
Their SUV was then struck by a second SUV, Ontario Provincial Police have said.
Investigators have not released details about what happened at the highway intersection, which has a two-way stop for vehicles crossing Thorndale Road, but say they continue to investigate.
Police said two 17-year-old girls and a 16-year-old girl died at the scene, while Eckert and the other 16-year-old girl were transported to hospital but later died of their injuries, police said.
The driver of the transport and two people in the other SUV suffered minor injuries.
Police did not have any updates to provide in the investigation on Sunday.
Speaking outside Walkerton District Community School on Sunday, Jamie Pettit, a spokesperson for Bluewater District School Board, described it as being a “time of unimaginable grief” for the school, the board and the broader community.
“It’s certainly left a huge void here within the community, and it’s something that’s going to linger for a long, long time, even beyond the initial grief stage,” Pettit said. The school board covers both Bruce and Grey counties.
He added that the tragedy had brought out the best “in peers and supports, not only within the school community, but like our community partners and local municipalities, our neighbouring school board and partner organizations.”
In a statement, board chair Jane Thomson and director of education Lori Wilder said the loss was devastating for the entire community, and mental health supports were being offered for students and staff.
“We recognize that many individuals in other communities across Bluewater also have close connections with those lost in this tragedy, and their families. It is important to acknowledge how this tragedy is impacting them as well. We are all here to support one another,” the statement read.
