On Aug. 21, 2024, Coaldale RCMP responded to a two-vehicle collision north of Coalhurst on Highway 3, at the interchange of Highway 3A.
Fire, EMS and RCMP arrived on scene and found one vehicle fully engulfed in flames with front-end damage and a second vehicle, also with substantial front-end damage, consistent with being involved in a head on collision.
One driver, a male resident of Lethbridge, received non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital. His seven-year-old son was transported to a Calgary hospital with critical injuries.
The second driver, a female resident of Calgary, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital. The passengers of this vehicle, children aged 16, 16 and 13, all from the same family, were taken to a Calgary hospital. Unfortunately, the 13-year-old female passenger succumbed to her injuries.
After a nearly five-month long investigation, RCMP have charged the male driver involved in this collision.
On Jan. 8, 34-year-old Lethbridge resident Mark Briggs was arrested. He has been charged with 15 criminal code offences, some of which include:
- Operate a motor vehicle while impaired causing death
- Dangerous driving causing death
- Operate a motor vehicle while impaired causing bodily harm (x4)
- Dangerous driving causing bodily harm (x4)
Briggs will appear in Alberta Court of Justice in Lethbridge Feb. 10.
CORRECTION: The RCMP have corrected the passengers in the second vehicle being 17, 16, and 13 years old, not 16, 13 and nine years old as originally reported.
