Construction company facing criminal charges in fatal Barrie crash

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Condrain Company (1983) Ltd. has been charged with six counts of criminal negligence causing death in relation to a crash that claimed the lives of six young people at a worksite on McKay Road in south-end Barrie last August.

The Barrie Police Service’s major crime unit announced the criminal charges on Thursday and the company is scheduled to appear in a Barrie court Feb. 13.

No additional information will be released, police said in a news release.

The young people who died in the crash — Curtis King, 22, River Wells, 23, Jason O’Connor, 22, Luke West, 22, Jersey Mitchell and Haley Marin, 21 – were reportedly on their way to the casino at Georgian Downs early on Saturday, Aug. 27 when the accident occurred. Residents say McKay Road is often used as a shortcut to and from the venue.

They were reported missing that day and found by a police officer around 2 a.m. the next day.  According to a family member of one of the victims, the vehicle had breached a barrier and fallen into a concrete tunnel access shaft.

The project is the first phase of infrastructure expansion to support development north and south of McKay Road. Water and wastewater service will be extended south from Salem Road along Veterans Drive, then west along McKay Road, the city’s project website stated.

crash site in BarrieWork started last spring on a new sanitary sewer along McKay Road and the first of five tunnelling shafts has been built. “Motorists are reminded that there is no access through the road closure or work zone,” the city’s website says.

The design-bid-build project’s team is made up of the City of Barrie, designer Schaeffers Consulting Engineers and a builder (Salem Landowners Group with the DG Group). A spokesperson for Schaeffers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Ministry of Labour inspector issued two requirements and one order to Condrain to produce documents and one additional requirement was issued not to disturb the scene. Officials announced on Sept. 26 that they had completed their investigation.

Founded in 1954 by Alfredo, Angelo, and Antonio De Gasperis, Condrain is based in Concord and focuses on “developing land from its most raw stages,” the company website states.

“The company and its divisions now deliver a 360-degree development process. We can do it all. From earthworks to sewers and watermains, to environmental, fabrication, road building and to the installation of fibre, electrical and gas lines, Condrain has become a vertically integrated infrastructure construction company.”

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