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Eight-Year-Old Ont. Girl Killed After Truck Flips Onto Roof in Icy Waters

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 December 2007, 18:00 CST

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

CANNINGTON, Ont. - An eight-year-old girl from Cannington, Ont., was killed on Christmas Eve after a pickup truck she was in slid off the road and flipped onto its roof, trapping her in the partially submerged vehicle in icy nighttime waters.

The crash happened near the girl's hometown, west of Lindsay at about 7:50 p.m. Monday, when the driver of the pickup truck, a 28-year-old female relative, lost control.

"It's always tragic when you lose a child, but to lose them in this manner and at Christmas time is just a triple kick in the guts," said Cindy Flynn, a spokeswoman for Durham Regional Police.

The roads were very icy at the time, Flynn said, and likely the only factor in the crash. The truck slid sideways off the road into the pond and lay there on its roof in about one metre of water.

Another motorist, who had been driving behind the pickup truck, was able to free the woman, who was treated in hospital for minor injuries and released.

Several other drivers stopped and tried to rescue the girl, who was trapped in the car, but neither they nor the volunteer firefighters who arrived just minutes later were able to save her.

Police officers who took emergency calls last night could hear screams in the background of people trying to rescue the young girl, Flynn said. The tragedy has taken its toll on the staff, she said, noting she could just tell from the looks on their faces.

"I came in this morning and I knew immediately that something had happened last night," Flynn said, adding her feeling that the tragedy involved a child was unfortunately confirmed.

Two firefighters were treated for hypothermia after their efforts to rescue the girl from the icy waters.

Flynn said police victims' services spent time with the family to try to help them cope with such a terrible loss.

"It's a very close-knit community," she added.

"I imagine the community will rally around them as well, quite a bit."

Source: Canadian Press

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