'Cars doing 360s smashing into each other': Junior hockey team OK after QE II crash

A bus carrying a local Junior A hockey team was among the dozens of vehicles involved in crashes south of Edmonton on Highway 2 due to poor winter driving conditions.

The Sherwood Park Crusaders' bus was involved in a multi-vehicle crash on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway Saturday afternoon. No players or staff of the Alberta Junior Hockey League Team were injured.

Blowing snow and icy roads, later prompted RCMP to close portions of the highway as officers were dispatched to numerous crashes.

Mounties told CTV News Edmonton on Sunday that a preliminary count indicated more than 50 vehicles had either been involved in collisions or had spun into the ditch along Highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary the day before.

Police are still working to finalize how many crashes officers responded to. As of publication, no serious injuries were reported in any of those incidents.

'IT JUST TURNED SO QUICKLY'

The Crusaders had played in Olds the night before, with their next game scheduled for Saturday in Blackfalds.

"It started as a usual road game for our hockey team," said Evan McFeeters, the team's head coach and associate general manager. "When we left Sherwood Park, the weather looked fine. We always check the road reports in advance. It looked OK, then it just turned so quickly."

"We do 30 of these trips across the province every year," he added. "The weather was so-so, but nothing that we haven't seen before over the years on the busses."

They were around 10 kilometres north of Ponoka when visibility deteriorated, and the roads became slick with ice, only about 25 minutes from the rink, McFeeters recalled.

"We rolled up on a massive pile-up where our bus driver just told everyone to hold on," McFeeters said. "He did an incredible job of keeping us safe and upright, weaving through the mayhem in front of us.

"We saw it all," he added. "We saw cars doing 360s smashing into each other, semis jackknifing, but our bus driver is the hero of the day for us.

"Keeping us upright when we hit the ditch and avoiding collisions along the way till we finally came to a stop."

The Sherwood Park Crusaders' bus was involved in a multi-vehicle crash on the QE II on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 (Credit: Christine Farkas).

After checking on all the players and staff, McFeeters said the team ended up handing water, snacks, and shelter to other people who were stranded on the side of the road.

School buses from nearby Ponoka were dispatched to safely transport the team and all other stranded motorists.

The team spent the night in the Ponoka Centennial Centre after the city set up a temporary accommodation space.

"It was amazing for the boys to see the generosity of people in moments of crisis or need," McFeeters said. "We were well taken care of and so thankful for the RCMP and responders all the way through the people and the City of Ponoka." 

A photo showing another crash near Olds, Alta., on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 (Source: Central Alberta Road Reports).

'THE ROADS WERE DEFINITELY INTENSE'

Miles Maldaner was driving north on the QE II returning home to Edmonton and described the stretch of highway near Ponoka yesterday as treacherous. 

"The roads were definitely intense," Maldaner said.

"There was basically groups of vehicles," he added, "in the ditch pretty much every which way. Large vehicles, small ones, multiples, singles, there were many."

In his view, too many motorists were driving too fast for the severe winter conditions and not leaving enough stopping distance.

"I saw one fellow that accelerated to get past another vehicle, essentially lost control, barely got it back into control, and 10 seconds later repeated the same things," he added.

RCMP say a final tally of crashes is expected to be released on Monday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Kenny and Marek Tkach