Driver crashed tow truck into house after medical emergency behind the wheel
A truck driver suffered a medical emergency while behind the wheel, causing him to lose control and crash into a house in Port au Port West, killing an elderly woman who was inside the residence.
The 61-year-old driver also died, and police say two other passengers in the tow truck were injured, in addition to an elderly man who was in the home, too. They were taken to hospital with what police say are serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
"It's with very heavy hearts we post today that we lost one of our drivers yesterday in the line of duty," reads a Facebook post by Eddy's Towing on Sunday.
"He suffered medical conditions which caused the deck truck he was driving to leave the road and crash into a house. Tragically a lady in the residence at the time also passed away. We cannot begin to express our sympathy to both families at this very, very difficult time."
The fatal incident happened Saturday evening just before 6 p.m. NT on Front Road in the community, with paramedics, firefighters and the RCMP responding. The road was closed overnight.
"Our thoughts and prayers also go out to our customers that were riding in our truck back to the dealership with their disabled vehicle. It is a tragedy for all involved," reads the post by Eddy's Towing.
Chaotic scene
Brad Bordeleau and his road construction crew were leaving their job site just a short distance from the crash site around 5:30 p.m. NT and came across the scene.
He said the scene was chaotic, and the truck was still running after it had crashed into the house.
"My whole crew took over the site until the paramedics showed up," Bordeleau told CBC News Monday.
He said his staff helped administer first aid and comforted the people who were injured.
"You know you have to be there, so when the paramedics and the cops and everyone shows up, they know what to do, where the casualties are and what the situation is, so then you can back off and they can do their job," he said.
Seeing the demolished house on Monday, two days after the crash happened, "it's obviously hard to look at," he said.
"To come over the hill and see the fact that the whole truck was in the side of the house is kind of shocking to begin with. And then to find out that there was people there is hard."
RCMP Cpl. Gillian Reddy, who is with the Bay St. George detachment, thanked Bordeleau and his crew who were on the scene before emergency personnel arrived.
She said the investigation is ongoing, but "we don't have any indication that there is any dangerous driving. It just appears that the medical condition may have caused the vehicle to go off the road," she said Monday.
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