Community honours 4 Walkerton, Ont., teens and teacher killed in multi-vehicle crash | CBC News
Residents in Walkerton, Ont., turned on their porch lights and left running shoes outside as a way to show their grief after four teenage athletes and their teacher were killed in a multi-vehicle crash outside London last week.
A candlelight vigil was also planned for Sunday night at the Walkerton District Community School, the K-12 school where the teenaged girls, aged 16 and 17, studied, and where 33-year-old Matt Eckert, worked as a teacher and coach.
The deadly collision has rocked the small Bruce County community and prompted an outpouring of support for the friends and family of the four girls and Eckert.
“It’s an incredibly deep, deep scar this has inflicted our community. It’s going to take a long time to heal,” said Chris Peabody, the mayor of Brockton, which includes Walkerton.
“We have, as a community, dealt with tragedy before, and small town Ontario residents always rise up in the face of adversity and band together, and I know that will happen here.”
Area residents visited the school throughout the day on Sunday to pay their respects, and to add flowers and other mementos to a growing outdoor memorial.
Among those stopping by were other students, including Keegan Padfield, 15, who says he left his boots outside his house on Saturday night, just like many of his neighbours.
“He was a really nice guy,” he said of Eckert. “He likes to make a lot of jokes, and he’s always really nice with the students.”
Padfield says he knew the five victims largely through school sports, with Eckert as one of his coaches, and described the four girls as being kind to everyone.
“When I first started out in Grade 9, they were all really supportive and helping everybody improve,” he said.
OPP continue to investigate
The five victims had been returning home from the 27th annual Girls’ High School Invitational Slo-Pitch Tournament in Dorchester, Ont., when their SUV collided with a transport truck at Thorndale and Cobble Hills roads around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Their SUV was then struck by a second SUV, Ontario Provincial Police have said.
Bluewater District School Board officials say five people — four high school students and a staff member — are dead after a crash while returning from a sporting event northeast of London, Ont., on Friday. Police say all five victims were in a SUV that collided with a transport truck, which then collided with a second SUV.
Investigators have not released details about what happened at the highway intersection, which has a two-way stop for vehicles crossing Thorndale Road, but say they continue to investigate.
Police said two 17-year-old victims died at the scene, while Eckert and the other 16-year-old girl were transported to hospital but later died there of their injuries, police said.
The driver of the transport and two people in the other SUV suffered minor injuries.
Police did not have any updates to provide in the investigation on Sunday.
‘Caring heart’
The identities of the teenagers have not been released, however Eckert is being remembered, not only as a teacher in Walkerton, but also as the Junior B assistant coach for the NorthStars Lacrosse Club in Owen Sound.
“Our organization is heartbroken and crushed to lose an important member of our family. Matt connected with our players on a level that is indescribable,” a social media post from NorthStars’ general manager, Ethan Woods, reads.
“His infectious smile and caring heart are things that will never be forgotten. We love you so much Ecky.”
Speaking outside Walkerton District Community School on Sunday, Jamie Pettit, a spokesperson for Bluewater District School Board, described it as being a “time of unimaginable grief” for the school, the board and the broader community.
“It’s certainly left a huge void here within the community, and it’s something that’s going to linger for a long, long time, even beyond the initial grief stage,” Pettit said. The school board covers both Bruce and Grey counties.
He added that the tragedy had brought out the best “in peers and supports, not only within the school community, but like our community partners, and local municipalities, our neighbouring school board, and partner organizations.”
In a statement, board chair Jane Thomson, and director of education Lori Wilder said the loss was devastating for the entire community, and mental health supports were being offered for students and staff.
“We recognize that many individuals in other communities across Bluewater also have close connections with those lost in this tragedy, and their families. It is important to acknowledge how this tragedy is impacting them as well. We are all here to support one another,” the statement read.
