We Didn't Even Hear About This Fatality: Grand Prairie 15 Passenger Van Rollover Killed 17 Year Old Passenger Last January

A 17 year old boy was killed in this 15 passenger van rollover in January, 2012.

Fatal Crash In Birch Hills County Area

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 12:19 PM
By Ricardo Veneza / Jeff Henson
Grande Prairie

A young man is dead and six others injured after a Tuesday night crash in the area of Birch Hills County.

Click here to read original article on HQGrandPrairie.com

Spirit River RCMP responded to the call shortly after 7 o'clock that evening and found a 15-passenger van in the ditch.

According to Mounties, a 17-year-old was thrown from the van and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The report shows the young man from Lethbridge was in the area for a wedding.

Everyone else in the van was from Birch Hills County.

The 20-year-old man behind the wheel was trapped inside the van, but was rescued by 

emergency responders.

The driver was airlifted by STARS to the QEII Hospital.

The other five passengers had varying degrees of injuries and went to hospital either in Grande Prairie or Spirit River.

The investigation is ongoing, but has found no one was wearing their seatbelts.