Criminal charges have been laid against a construction company in relation to a catastrophic crash that claimed the lives of six young people on McKay Road in south-end Barrie last summer.
The Barrie Police Service’s Major Crime Unit announced this afternoon (Jan. 12) that it has charged Condrain Company (1983) Ltd. with six counts of criminal negligence causing death, contrary to Section 220(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada.
Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday the company is required to appear in a Barrie court on Feb. 13.
A news release from city police, which was issued around 2:30 p.m., said they will not be providing any additional comments regarding this incident or the investigative process.
Condrain Company officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The August 2022 crash claimed the lives of Haley Marin, Curtis King, Luke West, Jersey Mitchell, River Wells and Jason Ono-O’Connor, all of whom were in their early 20s.
According to a family member of one of the victims, the car they were in plummeted into a deep hole — referred to by the city as a “tunnel access shaft” related to the residential development happening in the area — and then caught fire.
Investigators determined the collision occurred on McKay Road, between County Road 27 and Veterans Drive, sometime shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022.
Police have said 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.
On Sunday, Aug. 28, at approximately 2 a.m., while conducting a missing persons investigation, uniformed officers checked the construction zone and located a vehicle in a large hole in the middle of McKay Road, between County Road 27 and Veterans Drive.
An email on Sept. 23 from the Ministry of Labour’s communications manager said that since Aug. 29, a ministry inspector has handed out three orders and three requirements to Condrain Company Ltd., the company handling the construction in the area where the crash happened.
On Aug. 29, two requirements and one order were issued to produce documents and one additional requirement was issued not to disturb the scene.
On Aug. 30, an additional order was issued to protect the health and safety of workers.
On Aug. 31, an additional order to produce documents was issued.
Officials from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development announced on Sept. 26, 2022 that they had completed their investigation of the crash.
