A catastrophic crash on McKay Road in south-end Barrie, which claimed the lives of six young people, remains under investigation as various agencies continue to connect the dots about what happened that morning.
City police are still piecing together what happened early on Aug. 27 in the crash that killed Haley Marin, Curtis King, Luke West, Jersey Mitchell, River Wells, and Jason Ono-O’Connor, all of whom were in their early 20s.
Barrie police communications coordinator Peter Leon said there was no new information to be released on Friday into what led to the crash, which has affected the city on many levels with the outpouring of grief.
“This has been a challenging time for the (police) service, and for those who have been involved in this investigation, we recognize that the deaths of these young adults has profoundly impacted their families, friends and the community,” he said. “I can state with confidence that this incident is one that we will continue to investigate where the information we receive takes us and, in doing so, will leave no stone unturned.”
On Thursday, an official with the Office of the Chief Coroner said its investigation into the deadly crash remains in its early stages.
“Any information that we learn through our investigation will be shared with the investigating police service to assist in their investigation, which is also ongoing,” Julia Noonan-Savage said in an email to BarrieToday.
“For privacy reasons, any details, such as results from testing or cause of death, would be released to family members when it is known, but that information is not released publicly," she added.
The group of six had been reported missing in the hours before the crash scene was discovered in the middle of McKay Road around 2 a.m., on Sunday, Aug. 28.
According to a family member of one of the victims, the car plummeted into a large hole — referred to by the city as a "tunnel access shaft" and related to the residential development happening in the area — and then caught fire.
Investigators have determined the collision occurred on McKay Road, between County Road 27 and Veterans Drive, sometime shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27. Police say they believe the group was travelling to the nearby Gateway Casinos Innisfil (Georgian Downs), not far from the crash site and just outside the city limits.
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is also investigating the crash, which happened inside an active construction zone. However, ministry officials have not responded to requests for comment on the status of their investigation.
On Aug. 31, a labour ministry spokesperson said they had been notified Aug. 28 of a motor vehicle incident that occurred at a construction project in Barrie. An inspector was sent to the scene, but the ministry spokesperson said, "the length of the investigation will depend on the complexities of the case."
A GoFundMe page to raise money for the victims' families collected more than $86,000 to help cover costs such as funeral arrangements. The organizer, Ripple of Kindness Barrie, has now closed the page.
