Edmonton police chief renews call for vehicle seizures following fatal Tesla crash

A high-speed crash that killed three people in south Edmonton Sunday has prompted the city's police chief to again call for tougher penalties for extreme violations of the speed limit.

Two men and a woman were pronounced dead after a 2023 Tesla rolled multiple times in the area of Ellerslie Road and 17 Street around 1 a.m.

Police said speed was a factor in the single-vehicle crash that also sent two men and a woman to hospital.

"Obviously, it's still in the early stages of the investigation, lots of things to look at," Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee told reporters Monday.

"To think of how many families are impacted, with not only the three deceased but two that are still in critical condition, who knows the extent of those injuries, and a sixth person, that's a lot of different families that things like this are going to have a long-lasting effect."

McFee didn't say how fast the Tesla was going, but pointed out that EPS has been lobbying the Alberta government for the ability to seize vehicles from drivers caught going 50 km/h over the limit.

"These types of speeds are extremely dangerous, there's people getting hurt and the reality is this behaviour can't be accepted," McFee said.

"And one of the best and most proven effective ways to do this is seizing the vehicle…It's one of the best deterrents."

McFee said most Canadian provinces already have similar legislation. He said he has written letters to the UCP government to add vehicle seizures to Alberta law.

"Yes, the chief has actually raised that with us in the last legislature. What I committed to the chief is that we would certainly look into that as a possible option," public safety minister Mike Ellis said Monday.

Alcohol and drugs are often also involved in cases of extreme speeding, McFee said.

He acknowledged there's no way to know if tougher laws would have prevented Sunday's deaths, but believes seizure ability, if approved, will prevent some fatal crashes.

The chief said traffic fatalities are also traumatic for officers, so the service has protocols to check in on their mental health.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk