Police in Canada have charged a company with criminal negligence after a car accident at a construction site killed six young people.
The incident took place in the southern Ontario city of Barrie in August last year. Two women and four men in their early 20s were travelling to a casino at around six in the morning on 27 August when the fatal accident happened, police said.
Officers discovered the accident at around 2am on 28 August while conducting a missing persons investigation.
A statement from the City of Barrie said: “The area was a construction site being managed by City contractors to deliver the design, construction and financing of the water, sewer and road work along McKay Road and Veteran’s Drive to service new development in this area.”
The city said the road had been “fully closed and signed accordingly”.
According to the city’s project website, the work was scheduled for completion in November 2023, and included the installation of new watermains and a trunk sanitary sewer. In a statement yesterday Barrie Police said the charges had been brought after a complex investigation lasting several months.
It said: “As a result of the thorough investigation and review of all the available material, Con-Drain Company (1983) Ltd has been charged with six counts of criminal negligence causing death, contrary to section 220(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada.”
Police said the company is due to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie on 13 February.
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