Despite being airlifted by STARS to a Calgary hospital, a local man died Friday night following a collision east of Sundre. Emergency responders received a report of the crash at about 11:40 p.m. on Friday, April 29.
Despite being airlifted by STARS to a Calgary hospital, a local man died Friday night following a collision east of Sundre.
Emergency responders received a report of the crash at about 11:40 p.m. on Friday, April 29. The Sundre and Olds RCMP detachments, as well as EMS and the Sundre Fire Department attended the scene on Highway 27 about 15 kilometres east of town.
Police said the preliminary investigation revealed that an eastbound car driven by a male from B.C. crossed over the centre line and collided with a westbound motorcyclist, who was from Sundre.
The local male, Henryk Yonza, 47, succumbed to his injuries and died at a hospital in Calgary after being transported by STARS air ambulance.
The driver of the car, Sean Terrance Letwin, a 30-year-old from Beaverdell, B.C., was arrested without incident at the scene and faces the following charges: impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing death, having a blood-alcohol concentration over the legal limit and operating a motor vehicle while unauthorized.
Following a judicial interim release hearing, Letwin was released on cash bail with several conditions including abstaining from alcohol and not being found in the driver's seat of any vehicle, said police. He is to appear in Didsbury provincial court for his first appearance on Monday, May 16.
"These are the sad reminders of what happens when people drink and drive," said the Sundre RCMP detachment's Sgt. Jim Lank.
"Everyone makes the choice whether to drive after they've been drinking — even though they don't intend to cause an accident, especially a fatality — but they have the choice."
This is a stark reminder of why it's so important for people to understand that they might not be fit to drive even if they don't feel intoxicated after a few drinks, and that they should have alternate plans to arrive safely at their destinations, said Lank.
