A 56-year-old man from Calgary was killed when his motorcycle collided with a semi-truck in the traffic circle at Highway 22 and Highway 8 on Sept. 6, according to Cochrane RCMP.
Media Liaison Corporal Troy Savinkoff said the incident occurred at 12:15 p.m.
“The semi truck was making the roundabout at the traffic circle, and it’s unclear if the motorcyclist was unsure if the (truck driver) was going to turn off,” Savinkoff said. “(The motorcyclist) entered the traffic circle and slammed right into the wheels of this semi and immediately got pinned in the wheel wells and dragged.”
Savinkoff said the motorcyclist was killed instantly.
The driver of the truck, a 59-year-old man from Calgary, was not injured. The name of the motorcyclist is not being released pending notification of next of kin. A traffic analyst was called to the scene and traffic was re-routed for a number of hours, according to Savinkoff.
RCMP continue to investigate, however, Savinkoff said charges are not likely to be laid because the truck driver was not at fault.
Health Centre Break-In
Two youth from Morley were arrested and charged with Break and Enter, Resisting Arrest and Theft under $5,000 after they broke into the Stoney Health Centre in Morley early on the morning of Sept. 8, according to Savinkoff.
The two young offenders were released into their parents’ custody. Their names can’t be released because they are young offenders. One is 14 years old and the other is 15. Both are from Morley, and according to Savinkoff have no history with the RCMP.
“We received the call at 3:03 a.m.,” Savinkoff said. “It originally came into us as an alarm. We attended along with a keyholder, and the first member on scene could see that there were still people inside the Health Centre and called for more members to attend.”
Savinkoff said officers then surrounded the Health Centre.
“(The two suspects) were wearing gloves, masks and dark clothing,” he said. “Once police had set up, one of the kids exited the Health Centre and attempted to run. He was quickly corralled but tried to flee by jumping on the roof of a car in the parking lot. He was coaxed down by the members and arrested.”
According to Savinkoff, the second youth then exited the Health Centre and was also arrested. Both again attempted to flee the scene but were restrained by RCMP.
“I don’t have a dollar amount value but it looks like initially they were hell bent on causing damage,” Savinkoff said. “They’d deployed fire extinguishers, broke glass, as well as some other effects inside the Health Centre. Then they started to steal things; some access cards for the computers, as well as eye patches, and then it looks like they were attempting to access further into the Health Centre where I believe the drugs are kept.”
Savinkoff said the facility’s security measures delayed the pair’s attempt to gain access and gave RCMP enough time to arrive on scene.
“On an alarm like that, there’s a high likelihood that it’s real, so on an alarm such as that we would be attending in a very expedited fashion,” he said.
“According to (the two suspects), they were walking and for whatever reason they were struck with this sudden inspiration (to break into the Health Centre),” Savinkoff said.
“But it doesn’t really correlate with the whole mask thing. One of the moms thought (her son) was in bed.”
Savinkoff said the two suspects will be in Cochrane Provincial Court on Oct. 14 to enter a plea.
Hit and Run
The Airdrie ITU is looking for the driver of a semi-truck that was travelling westbound on Highway 566 near the Balzac overpass at 7 a.m. on Sept. 9. The semi-truck was pulling a flatbed truck loaded with a swather and struck another vehicle travelling eastbound, according to Sheriff Jason Graw.
Graw said the driver of the semi-truck may not realize the swather had made contact with the dark blue Honda Ridgeline pick-up truck, driven by a man from Calgary.
Neither the driver of the pick-up, nor his female passenger, also from Calgary, sustained any injuries in the incident.
“In a situation like that when we have a semi-truck pulling a load and then a small passenger vehicle, sometimes the semi driver just doesn’t realize that they’ve made contact with another vehicle or object,” Graw explained. “We would just like to speak to the other driver involved.”
Graw said officers believe the swather may have sustained some damage or may have some paint transfer from the pick-up truck and are asking any farmers in the area who were travelling on Highway 566 at 7 a.m. on Sept. 9 while driving a semi-truck to transport a swather to contact their local RCMP detachment or the Airdrie ITU at (403) 945 7284.
Driving while suspended
A 24-year-old man from Fort McMurray is facing additional charges after driving away from Airdrie Provincial Court on Sept. 9 soon after receiving a 14-day suspension of his license for an earlier speeding charge, according to Sheriff Jason Graw of the Airdrie Integrated Traffic Unit (ITU). He has been charged with Driving While Unauthorized under the Alberta Traffic Safety Act and if convicted, could face a substantial fine and/or prison sentence as well as a six-month suspension of his license.
Graw said the man was spotted by officers of the Airdrie ITU driving on Veteran’s Boulevard at 11:30 a.m.
The man was originally charged with speeding after he was clocked doing 167 kilometres per hour on Highway 2 near Crossfield on June 28. He appeared in Airdrie Provincial Court on Sept. 9 and after pleading guilty was given a $400 fine and a 14-day suspension of his license.
Graw said the Traffic Commissioner advised the man he was not to drive after leaving the courthouse.
“We spotted him a short time later, recognized him and stopped him,” Graw said. “He will now be given a new court date, likely about two months down the road, and he’ll have to answer to the new charges then.”
If you have any information on any crime, call your local RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers.
