This story has been corrected to reflect the fact the deceased was not the driver of the vehicle.Yorkton This Week apologizes for the error.
Two survivors of a SUV rollover May 27 that claimed a young life last week are out of danger.
In the early hours of Tuesday last, police responded to a 'suspicious person' report from a resident of York Lake Road. What they found was an injured 18-year-old woman who had been involved in a single vehicle rollover. Officers found the crashed SUV approximately one kilometre south of Yorkton where firefighters used the jaws-of-life to extract a 21-year-old woman, but she was pronounced dead on the scene by EMS.
First responders found the another victim, a 17-year-old girl who had been ejected from the vehicle, nearby. She was transported to Yorkton hospital by ambulance then airlifted to Regina by STARS.
Police are not releasing names of the victims because of an ongoing investigation, but Cpl. Travis Adams of the Yorkton municipal RCMP said he received word from medical authorities on Thursday the survivors would be okay.
Adams said police consider both alcohol and speed to have been factors in the crash, but could not confirm social media rumours that the women had been involved in a graduation party.
"We don't have anything in our investigation that suggests that," he said. He acknowledged, however, that all too often grad season becomes associated with these kinds of tragedies.
Automobile accidents are still the number one killer of youths aged 16 to 25. Adding alcohol to inexperience and immaturity is responsible for half of these deaths according to MADD Canada.
MADD advises parents to talk to their teens about the dangers of drinking and driving especially at this time of year when they are particularly vulnerable. The organization has many other tips for parents on its website.
