The scene of the crash that killed six young people last weekend is believed to be a large concrete hole, referred to as a tunnel access shaft by the city, 10 meters wide and 20 meters deep, located right in the middle of McKay Street at the south end Barry. The car plunged into the hole and caught fire, according to a family member of one of the victims. The crash is believed to have happened between 4am and 6am on Saturday, August 27, but the crash scene was not identified until 2am on Sunday by a Barrie police officer. All six people had been reported missing on Saturday and were on their way to the casino at Georgia Downs in Innisfil, not far from where the crash happened. Although it is unknown how the road was blocked before the crash, large concrete blocks are now in place at the site. BarrieToday, a sister site of SooToday, spoke with residents Thursday afternoon who live in the area of ​​Veterans Drive and McKay Road, which has been undergoing major construction for several months as housing developments build on the south end. A woman who lives in the McKay Road area said she and her husband had walked to the hole before the crash to look down. “My husband has said many times, looking at the construction zone, that it was a disaster waiting to happen,” said the woman, who did not want her name used because of the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation. “As far as driving in there, (people take) their ATVs in there and around. No one stops them.”
Both McKay Road and Veterans Drive have ‘Local Traffic Only’ signs and now have barricades, fencing and concrete, with police monitoring the construction site. “Proper signs and roadblocks have not been made. If someone wanted to enter the dirt road, they could easily, and apparently they did,” the woman said. “This is so sad, so tragic and should never have happened.” The woman said she believes the catastrophic accident could have been prevented. “If that hole had been covered, we wouldn’t be talking here today,” he told a reporter. Another resident said there was never proper signage near the site entrances. “At the intersection of Veterans and McKay, there’s a security guard standing there to direct people going through the sign to the road, but even that sign just says ‘Local Traffic Only,’” said the man, who also asked that his name not be published. “But even then, where (the crash happened) is on the other side — McKay Street and Highway 27 — and there’s no guard down there, no proper signage or gates and barricades like there are now.” BarrieToday also asked if there was anything stopping someone from driving east on McKay Street and into the construction zone. “No, nothing like the big jams they have now. If there was a small thing around the hole, no one would have seen that at night or at the last moment,” the man said. City of Barrie officials have not responded to several questions from BarrieToday, including what the barriers were at the site before the crash and who put up the concrete barriers that are now in place. In a statement emailed to BarrieToday just before 6pm on Thursday, City of Barrie Chief Administrative Officer Michael Prowse said: “We are devastated by the loss of life and the events of August 27/28. A police investigation is currently underway and the City of Barry is cooperating fully with this investigation. Unfortunately, we are simply unable to provide any further comment or details at this time.” The project’s contractor, Condrain Group, a Concord, Ont., company, could not be reached for comment by BarrieToday. A family member of one of the victims told BarrieToday that all six families are meeting with Barrie police chief investigators and officials from the medical examiner’s office Friday afternoon. A Barrie police spokesman said there were no further updates today (September 1) on the investigation. The latest update from the police was given on Monday. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is also investigating. Six Barrie residents, all in their 20s, died when their car went into the hole on McKay Street, west of Veterans Drive. The victims are: Haley Marin, 21; Curtis King, 22; Luke West, 22; Jersey Mitchell, 20; River Wells, 23; and Jason Ono-O’Connor, 23. Their families are still searching for answers about what happened. CTV News Barrie spoke to Natalie Hawes, Wells’ mother, at the scene of the crash Wednesday. “I need answers,” Hawes said. “It doesn’t make sense why he was down here.” Information on the city’s website about the McKay Road West sanitary sewer project refers to the installation of a 1,200mm deep sanitary sewer along McKay from 800m west to 350m east of the intersection with Veterans Drive using a trenchless construction method . Five tunnel access shafts are required, he says, up to 10 meters wide and 20 meters deep. The wells will temporarily occupy part of the road allowance. The tunnel access shaft is part of a major construction project that is expected to close the intersection of McKay Road West and Veterans Drive, and related roads, for 20 months. On May 4, a city memo said the McKay Road-Veterans Drive intersection would be closed from May 24 until approximately November 2023. The closure is necessary to build new infrastructure to support growth and development in the southeast part of the secondary plan of Salem Area. McKay Street will be widened to five lanes and get a new streetscape with curb and gutter, raised medians, concrete sidewalks, elevated bike lane and stormwater management improvements. In addition, the McKay-Veterans intersection will be widened and upgraded. The road closure includes McKay Street from one kilometer west of Veterans Drive to just east of Highway 400 and Veterans Drive from Salem Street to Innisfil’s 9th Line. The McKay-Veterans intersection is also closed to all traffic. Local access to residents within the closure boundaries was maintained during the project. However, through traffic will not be allowed. There were detours during construction. “The site was a site managed by city contractors to deliver the design, construction and financing of water, sewer and road works along McKay Road and Veterans (Drive) to accommodate new development in this area,” Prowse said in a statement. which was issued on Sunday afternoon. “The road has been fully closed and has been signed accordingly for many months.” An update this summer on the city’s website said construction was well underway, with McKay Road and Veterans Drive fully closed. Work has started on the new drainage along McKay Street and the first of five tunnel shafts has been constructed at the junction. Drainage work on McKay Road is scheduled to continue, along with the installation of a culvert on Veterans Drive during the summer months. Drivers were reminded that there is no access through the road closure or work zone and to follow detour signs.