MORLEY, ALBERTA, Canada — An official with a southern Alberta reserve says he supports fed-up band members who charged drivers a toll this week to detour around a fatal crash.
Ken Christensen is tribal administrator with the Stoney Nakoda First Nation along the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary.
He says construction has created traffic jams since June and band members posted at the reserve's main entrance have been waving drivers off private property.
On Monday, following a crash that killed an 86-year-old woman, RCMP rerouted vehicles to a public highway through the reserve, but some cars ended up on reserve roads.
Christensen says he has heard that some members pocketed tolls of $10 or $20, although motorists weren't forced to pay and could have taken the proper detour.
He says some people may not agree with charging money after an accident, but his concern is for the people in the crash, not drivers who wanted to save time.
