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DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
The NWT Coroner Service has released the identities of two individuals who were killed in a collision that occurred on Highway 3 on Feb. 19.

The dead include Grant Lawrence Ambler, 60, of Gwynne, Alta., and Leroy Alfred Conner, 66, of Grove, Okla. Ambler was the driver and only person in a southbound truck while Conner was in the sleeper of a northbound truck.

The collision took place on Feb. 19 approximately 80 km north of Fort Providence near Chan Lake. The highway between Fort Providence and Edzo was closed for 48 hours, reopening on Feb. 21 at 8 a.m., so an investigation could be conducted and a clean-up could take place.

Physical evidence was gathered at the site on Feb. 20 and into the morning of Feb. 21, said RCMP Cpl. Barry Ledoux, the media relations officer for G Division.

"Now we're starting to put the pieces together and just see if we can determine a cause," he said.

The Fort Providence RCMP along with an Alberta traffic analyst, G Division Forensic Services and Hay River Traffic Services are working on the investigation.

The collision resulted in hazardous material being released at the scene. The RCMP won't say what the material was, but according to other sources the northbound transport truck was carrying explosives and the southbound truck was an empty Super B fuel tanker.

All of the hazardous material has been recovered, said Ledoux. The two companies who owned the trucks involved in the collision made the arrangements for the clean-up.

"Given the location, there was no risk to public safety," he said.

Ledoux said the highway did have to be kept closed so the material could be removed before motorists re-entered the area.

In addition to the two fatalities, a third individual was still hospitalized on Feb. 21.

Big River Service Centre LP, on Highway 3 near the Fort Providence access road, was affected by the collision and the resulting highway closure.

Ambler, the driver of the fuel truck owned by Ventures West, was a father and his son was driving in a second truck just ahead of him, said Dave Wilkes, Big River's general manager.

The son stopped at Big River and was waiting for his dad to arrive when word came of the crash.

"He knew it was his father involved," said Wilkes. "He was very upset."

The son wanted to go back to the crash site, but the service centre staff convinced him to wait. Unfortunately another driver arrived and began telling people in the store that two people had died in the crash, Wilkes said.

The son "lost it," he said. Staff called Dehcho Health and Social Services in Fort Providence who sent counsellors to the service centre to speak with the son.

The son stayed at the centre for four or five hours before heading home, said Wilkes. The father and son were from south of Edmonton.

Wilkes said news of the crash also affected other transport truck drivers who were at the centre. In small groups they were discussing what might have caused the crash, he said.

This is the first fatal collision of the year on the highways, streets or roads of the NWT. There were two fatalities in 2012 and none in 2011, according to the Department of Transportation.

With the highway closed, approximately 50 transport trucks had gathered at Big River by Feb. 21 when the highway reopened.

Additional traffic began arriving before the trucks had cleared because the highway information signs in Hay River had been changed to say the highway was open, Wilkes said.

The RCMP thanked motorists and the general public for their patience. Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact the Fort Providence RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

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