Charges laid in Calgary crash that killed 5

hmm.. the guy who almost killed me several years ago was drunk as a skunk.. he also refused a breathalyzer.. and then walked away from the courthouse.. hope the same doesnt happen here.

He may have refused to take a breathalyzer, but I hope the cops were inept enough to look for blood in the cab of the truck and to get a sample from him.

I think the police have the right to take your blood in Canada if they suspect you have been drinking and you refuse a breathalyzer. (if not, as a cop I would have punched him in the nose)

IMHO, refusing to take a breathalyzer test is equal to being quilty of driving drunk.

There are not much things I loathe, but driving drunk is one of them Especially when it is your job to be on the road.

Refusing a breathalyzer is admitting guilt. If you refuse, you end up in the same boat as if you had blown over as far as the law is concerned.

Nope it sure don’t look good if he didn’t blow, but when there’s 5 dead people, I don’t know if I’d want to put my future on the line with a machine and the possibility of an inexperienced operator taking my breath sample, I’d rather give a blood sample. I’m wondering if it was a case of the dad being one of the few drivers in Calgary that actually stop for a yellow light and the cement truck driver thinking he was going to run it.

Alta_redneck, dam are you on the money.

Calgarians can't drive worth a shit. Just yesterday some Big Rig Trucker in a hurry figured I should get out his way while driving in the middle lane (lane 2) on Hwy #2 (Deerfoot). He flashed his high beams and blasted the horn.

The fact that lane 3 to the right was clear and a car was merging onto the hwy in lane #1 was no mind to him. (he should have move to lane 3)

Glad I drive a standard, I just dropped a gear (no brake lights that way) and scared the living piss out of the Trucker behind me. He decided it best he move over to lane 3 quickly and unfortunately he over steered and almost went into the ditch with his rig.

Drivers in Calgary speed to much (or slow down to much if there is a little bit of snow on the road), drive to fast for the road conditions, tail gate (especially the trucks) and are generally just rude fucks!!

Yeah, thats what i thought as well.. turns out, in Ontario, in 1994 anyway, thats not true.

The loophole was some bullshit about having the right to talk to a lawyer first.

By the time that happened, it was too late for a test.

i really hope it has changed.

Alta_redneck, dam are you on the money.

Calgarians can't drive worth a shit. Just yesterday some Big Rig Trucker in a hurry figured I should get out his way while driving in the middle lane (lane 2) on Hwy #2 (Deerfoot). He flashed his high beams and blasted the horn.

The fact that lane 3 to the right was clear and a car was merging onto the hwy in lane #1 was no mind to him. (he should have move to lane 3)

Glad I drive a standard, I just dropped a gear (no brake lights that way) and scared the living piss out of the Trucker behind me. He decided it best he move over to lane 3 quickly and unfortunately he over steered and almost went into the ditch with his rig.

Drivers in Calgary speed to much (or slow down to much if there is a little bit of snow on the road), drive to fast for the road conditions, tail gate (especially the trucks) and are generally just rude fucks!!

Not unlike yourself I am sure.

Alta_redneck, dam are you on the money.

Calgarians can't drive worth a shit. Just yesterday some Big Rig Trucker in a hurry figured I should get out his way while driving in the middle lane (lane 2) on Hwy #2 (Deerfoot). He flashed his high beams and blasted the horn.

The fact that lane 3 to the right was clear and a car was merging onto the hwy in lane #1 was no mind to him. (he should have move to lane 3)

Glad I drive a standard, I just dropped a gear (no brake lights that way) and scared the living piss out of the Trucker behind me. He decided it best he move over to lane 3 quickly and unfortunately he over steered and almost went into the ditch with his rig.

Drivers in Calgary speed to much (or slow down to much if there is a little bit of snow on the road), drive to fast for the road conditions, tail gate (especially the trucks) and are generally just rude fucks!!

Thats funny but true. I wonder where the hell all these bad drivers in Calgary come from.....Ontario...the Maritimes, Saskatchewan....? 30 000 shit heads a year move here, do you think they got their drivers license in Calgary? I wish they would all just go home.

Update ..the guy was pissed to the gills...

Trucker charged in Macleod Tr. tragedy
Operator heard crash on phone as motorist said, 'He's killed them'
Paula Beauchamp and Jamie Komarnicki, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, December 09, 2007

A driver on Macleod Trail reporting a cement mixing truck weaving on Mcleod Trail watched in horror as the truck rammed a car at a red light, killing all five people inside.

Two victims of the crash Friday night near Chaparral have been identified by family as Lana Hodebo, 33, and her 16-month-old son, Zachary.

The frantic driver called C&J Construction, the name of the company on the cement truck, moments before the collision on Macleod Trail at 194th Avenue S.E.
A call-centre operator was speaking to a man reporting an erratically driven cement truck just before Friday's crash.View Larger Image View Larger Image
A call-centre operator was speaking to a man reporting an erratically driven cement truck just before Friday's crash.
Grant Black, Calgary Herald


Call-taker Jina Wilkie said a man phoned C&J's driver hotline about 7 p.m. to complain about the erratic driving of one of the company's vehicles, saying it was frightening him.

"The caller was getting more and more panicky, screaming for me to get someone because the driver was going all over the road and off to the side," Wilkie told the Herald through tears.

"Then the man screamed, 'Oh my God, he's gone through a red light. He just T-boned someone. He's killed them.' " By that time Wilkie said she already knew there had been a crash because she heard a horrifying crunch through the phone -- indicating how close her caller was to the collision.

Police are holding the truck driver in custody after charging him with five counts of dangerous driving causing death and refusing to provide a breath sample.

Three other people died in the crash, a 41-year-old man and two girls aged six and nine.

"We are extremely sad and shaken up with the news our beloved family members have died," said Hodebo's cousin Janise Lussier, saying the Calgary woman's family was contacted by police about 5 a.m. Saturday. "Lana's father Rick is a real mess right now. He is devastated." Wilkie said the male caller then asked her to call EMS and gave Macleod Trail and 194th Avenue S.E. as the address of the crash.

It wasn't until Wilkie was interviewed by police Saturday that she realized five people had died there at the same time.

Police received several reports of an erratic C&J concrete vehicle shortly before the crash occurred, said Duty. Insp. Guy Slater.

Hodebo's family, contacted by the Herald in Saskatchewan, was reeling from the news of the accident.

Lussier said the 33-year-old mother of two was "always bright and cheerful" and "always had a smile on her face." Hodebo's family confirmed the man in the car wasn't Zachary's father and that Hodebo wasn't the mother of the two dead girls.

In a tribute, Lana Hodebo's father, Rick, and her grandmother Ida extended their sympathy to the grieving families of the other victims.

"This was a senseless loss and we pray that hearts will heal in time," it read. "A reminder to all those out on the road this season to please, please, please be safe when driving. This (tragedy) could have been prevented." The victims were in a northbound 1999 Chrysler Intrepid, stopped at a red light at the intersection when it was struck from behind by a concrete mixing truck, police said.

The impact crushed the car under the front of the truck and propelled it nearly 300 metres northward.

Speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash, said Slater, adding that everyone involved is left to cope with the trauma.

"People make choices and unfortunately not only do they live with the consequences of it. So does everybody else impacted by it, including the larger community," said Slater.

Police are trained to manage their emotional response so they can focus on the immediate investigation, said Slater. But many frontline police officers with young families are particularly impacted by the crash, said Slater.

Police held a debriefing shortly after the crash Friday.

Peer support and psychological services are available to help officers deal with what they saw, said Slater.

Lussier told the Herald her cousin, who worked at Sobeys, had moved to Calgary from Saskatchewan three or four years ago.

"She was extremely happy and content with her life there," Lussier said.

She said her cousin, who lost her mother at a young age, had another son, Alex.

"She loved both her boys very much," said Lussier, who had yet to meet Zachary, because Hodebo had not visited since he was born. "We're all devastated." Lussier said Zachary's father identified his son to police while a minister identified Hodebo on the family's behalf.

Chaparral resident Brent Jeneroux, who lives about 200 metres from the crash site, said the accident sounded like something being scraped or pushed along the road.

"I didn't hear the brakes to the last minute," he said.

Jeneroux said he could see where the two vehicles ended up.

"I was going to go down there, but cars were stopping. I knew it was going to be bad and it wasn't something anyone should see." Jeneroux, who was expecting his wife and children to return home via the intersection, immediately called them to make sure they were safe.

"I was so relieved when my wife answered and I knew it wasn't her," he said. "This is anybody, anybody's family. They were just sitting there. It's so sad." Jeneroux added the traffic lights and intersection at 194th Ave. are clearly visible to anyone driving toward Calgary.

But area residents have complained about unsafe traffic in the area in the past.

Ward 14 Ald. Linda Fox-Mellway, who fought to have traffic lights put in at the intersection, said flashing signals warn drivers of upcoming red lights.

Community members are saddened by the crash, she said.

"Right now I'm just very concerned about the family in the vehicle and feeling quite sick about it frankly," she said. "It's very tragic." Sisters of Charity of St. Louis nun Helen Hengel, who survived a crash in which a semi-trailer hit her car and killed four nuns, said she was feeling for the people involved.

"I don't care to go back over that," she said of the devastating 2003 crash along the TransCanada Highway. "The people involved have some terrible things to go through and I can't renew it for myself." With traces of eerie similarity, the crash Hengel survived involved a large truck and happened on a highway on the city's outskirts near Canada Olympic Park.

Daniel Tschetter, 50, of Cochrane faces five counts of dangerous driving causing death.

He was also charged with refusing to provide a breath sample.

He will remain in custody pending a court appearance on Dec. 13.

C&J spokesman Nav Saini said to the best of the company's knowledge, "Tschetter had a good driving record or obviously we wouldn't have employed him." "It is standard practice in this industry to check driving records and we did do that in this case," he said.

The company expressed its condolences to the family and friends of the victims of the accident, but said it could not comment on the crash because of the ongoing police investigation.

pbeauchamp@theherald.canwest.com jkomarnicki@theherald.canwest.com


© The Calgary Herald 2007


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