5 vehicles involved in Boxing Day crash in Calgary; at least 4 hospitalized

Officials are investigating the cause of a major crash in Calgary that sent at least four people to hospital and closed the intersection of McLeod Trail and Southland Drive.

Four people are in hospital in life-threatening condition following a multi-vehicle crash Calgary’s south-east on Thursday morning, which police say was caused by a fleeing robbery suspect.

Calgary Police say they were called to a robbery at a Pharmasave along Millrise Boulevard around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Officers say they believe a suspect assaulted a pharmacist then fled in a stolen vehicle.

After locating the vehicle, officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but CPS says the driver refused to stop and fled at a high rate of speed. This resulted in police backing off in the interest of public safety. However, the suspect continued speeding for approximately 18 minutes before running a red light at the intersection at McLeod Trail and Southland Drive, causing a devasting collision.

Paul Donaldson, who was involved in the crash, described a chaotic scene. “We were sitting at the light here, a red light. We were about to turn east onto Southland Drive and we’d seen a van come flying through a red light and T-bone somebody, I don’t know who the heck it was. They flew into us and basically, that’s the last thing I remember,” he told Global News.

“He hit that person so hard, I don’t think the wheels touched the ground until they hit us. Like, that’s how fast that guy was going.”

Scott Cowan, a fire battalion chief with the Calgary Fire Department, said crews were called to the scene of the crash just before 10 a.m.

“One patient was on the ground, two needed to be extricated from one of the vehicles. So far, we have four patients total that have been transported to the hospital,” Cowan said.

The Calgary Fire Department confirmed a child was among those hospitalized. The others included an adult and two teenagers.