RAYMOND, Alta. — Five players with a high school football team are being treated for injuries in hospitals following a collision at a rural highway intersection in southeastern Alberta.
Raymond RCMP say a northbound pickup truck with a trailer on Highway 5 crashed into a westbound pickup that was entering Highway 52 on Thursday at about 5:45 p.m.
Const. Mike Hibbs said five youths were in the westbound truck.
Three were taken to a Calgary hospital — one with serious life-threatening injuries and two with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
Two other youths were sent to a Lethbridge hospital with non-life- threatening injuries.
— Southern Alberta Minor Football Association (@minor_southern) October 12, 2018
"All five youth remain in hospital," Hibbs said Friday.
"The RCMP Raymond detachment and an RCMP collision analyst attended the scene and the investigation is still ongoing."
The driver of the other truck was not hurt.
The Southern Alberta Minor Football Association said the crash involved five players with the Raymond High School Comets.
"Please say some prayers for these young men," the association said in a post on social media.
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the football game versus Catholic Central that was scheduled at 5 PM, will no longer be played."
We can confirm that a group of Westwind students were involved in a serious car collision near Raymond this evening. In these moments of uncertainty, our sole focus remains with supporting those injured and their families. We will provide more details as they become available.
— Westwind School Division (@wwsd74) October 12, 2018
The Westwind School Division said students and staff have been deeply affected by the serious accident.
"This is a heartbreaking and tragic accident and we recognize that students and families from several of our schools and communities will be impacted by it," the division said on its website.
"We join with the community in extending an outpouring of caring, compassion and support for our students who have been injured and their families.
"We stand by you."
