Several people were rushed to hospital, including two minors, after a serious vehicle collision on Thursday morning.
Police said some people involved suffered significant injuries and remain in critical and life-threatening condition.
The accident occurred around 10 a.m. at Southland Drive and Macleod Trail S., and was preceded by a robbery at a pharmacy in the city’s southwest.
According to the Calgary Fire Department (CFD), five vehicles were involved in the accident, all of which sustained serious damage.
CFD said they found one person on the ground outside one of the vehicles and two more trapped inside who needed the jaws of life to get out.
Battalion Chief Scott Cowan said he knows of two people under the age of 18 and two adults who were taken to the hospital.
These were the worst injuries at the scene, CFD said, although there were others.
Paul Donaldson, who was in one of the other vehicles hit in a chain reaction, said: “Unfortunately, when I got out of the car, I saw the girl lying on the ground and they (emergency personnel) were working on her.”
Donaldson had to crawl out of his own vehicle, dragging his partner with him.
He said his partner received cuts to the face.
“We had to crawl across the back seat and jump back. I had to get (my partner) out of the car,” he said.
“Everything went well. All airbags.”
Donaldson said he found the incident “surreal” and left him “in shock.”
“We were sitting at the light getting ready to head east on Southland,” he said.
“The minivan flew through the red light while that little gray car was trying to turn… He smoked her and she came flying toward us.”
Donaldson said someone was arrested by police at the scene.
“They took him out of the truck. There were about five or six police officers on top of the guy,” he said.
Calgary police, firefighters and EMS were called Thursday to Southland Drive and Macleod Trail in the city’s south for a vehicle collision. (Image by @YYCTRANSPORTATION/X)
Police said later Thursday that they had been following the vehicle before the collision.
The Pharmasave at 15 Millrise Blvd. SW was robbed, his pharmacist was assaulted, and a vehicle was stolen around 9:30 a.m.
Rabina Rabina was working at the Shell station near Pharmasave at the time of the robbery.
“I was sitting here. I was doing my thing, and I saw someone crossing the street, and then I felt something was wrong, and then I locked the door and he tried to come in. So I said, ‘I asked him to come over to the door.’ side window to be able to attend to him, but he didn’t listen to me,” he said.
“Then he went to Pharmasave, and after about two minutes, I saw that he was in a hurry, he started the pharmacy employee’s car and then drove off.”
The ordeal left her shaken.
“I was thinking about my safety. I was totally alone and I was thinking, ‘What if he came in and could hurt me too?'” she said.
According to police, after the robbery, the suspect refused to stop for officers on the ground and was driving dangerously.
A police helicopter continued to monitor the vehicle from above.
Police said the suspect ran the red light at Southland Drive and Macleod Trail, causing the collision.
The suspect remains in custody and charges are pending.
YYC Transportation reported that roads were closed in all directions and motorists should avoid the area.
Police said they closed northbound and southbound Macleod Trail from 94 Avenue to 99 Avenue SE, and westbound and eastbound Southland Drive from Horton Road SW to Bonaventure Drive SE.
Police also advised motorists to seek alternative routes in the area.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been notified of the incident.
ASIRT is the province’s police oversight body.
With files from CTV News Calgary’s Tyler Barrow
