Con-Drain Group has been charged with six counts of criminal negligence causing death following an investigation into an August 2022 collision that claimed the lives of six young adults in Barrie.
In a statement released Thursday, police said the “thorough investigation” was a lengthy process.
On August 28, 2022, police officers investigating a six-person missing persons report found a single-vehicle crash in a construction zone on the city’s south end.
The victims were later identified as Curtis King, 22, River Wells, 21, Jason Ohno-O’Connor, 23, Luke West, 22, Jersey Mitchell, 20, and Haley Marin, 21.
Police say the group was headed to a casino in Georgian Downs, south of Barrie, when the vehicle they were in plunged into a deep concrete ditch in a construction zone along McKay Road, east of County Road 27.
The crash site was discovered nearly 20 hours after the group was last spotted.
Questions still remain, including to what extent, if at all, the sinkhole and the surrounding area between Veterans Drive and County Road 27 were blocked.
It is not clear if there was a fence or appropriate signage.
According to the city of Barry, the area was the site of an infrastructure project with new water and sanitary sewers being built at McKay Road and Veterans Drive.
Barrie police say they will not comment further on the investigation.
Following news of the charges, Curtis King’s family released a statement to CTV News saying, “This is a huge step in our healing process. Our home is broken.”
Con-Drain, founded by the De Gasperis brothers, is one of Ontario’s largest construction companies with a focus on sewer and water infrastructure.
CTV Barrie reached out to Con-Drain Group for comment but did not hear back.
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