$3 million lawsuit filed over fatal Barrie crash that killed 6 young people

The area where a car crash killed six young Barrie residents has been described as a “trap” in a $3 million lawsuit filed by the family of one of the victims.

The lawsuit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court on March 28, 2024.

Haley Marin, Curtis King, Luke West, Jersey Mitchell, River Wells and Jason Ono-O’Connor, all in their 20s, died on August 27, 2022, when the Hyundai they were driving fell into a construction hole in the middle of the closed McKay Road , between County Road 27 and Veterans Drive, around 6 a.m

According to the complaint, the car was traveling east on McKay Road when it struck “the wall of a concrete shaft that protruded from the ground approximately two feet or more around the edge of the shaft.

“It is alleged that the Hyundai struck the side of the concrete shaft, overturned and impacted the bottom of the shaft to a depth of over 5 meters. At some point, the vehicle caught fire,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit also says that “on the day of the accident, there were no barricades or fences in place, and if there were any warning signs, they were clearly insufficient to protect the driver from danger.”

The area was later described in the lawsuit as a “danger and trap for motorists.”

The word “trap” is used four times to describe the area in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also describes the crash site, for clarity, with a so-called simile: “The placement of a concrete shaft and the lack of warning and the lack of barricades and/or fences would be reminiscent of someone installing an empty, 5-meter-deep underground swimming pool with a 2-meter curb in a rural area without warning.” road overnight, without alerting the public.”

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit are Kimberly More, Haley Marin’s mother, as well as Haley’s brothers, Cody and Aidan Marin. They are each suing the defendants for $1 million in damages.

The defendants are: Corporation of the City of Barrie, Condrain Company, John Doe, Erin Mitchell, Watersand Construction, Erritt Construction, Schaeffers Consulting Engineers and Alley Nightclub.

“Plaintiffs argue that the above accident and the resulting injuries and damages were caused solely by the joint and several negligence of the defendants,” the lawsuit reads.

The driver of the car was John Doe, but it is unknown who was driving the Hyundai at the time of the crash.

Erin Mitchell, Jersey Mitchell’s mother, owned the car that was involved in the accident.

None of the accusations have been tested or proven in court.

Most defendants contacted for comment on the lawsuits BarrieToday he did not answer.

“As the matter is ongoing, we will not comment at this time,” said Iain Peck, a lawyer for Schaeffers.

The city of Barrie is named in the lawsuit because its responsibilities include “regulating building and safety codes in the city of Barrie, Ontario,” according to a statement in the lawsuit. “They failed to take the necessary precautions to keep public roads safe.”

Condrain, employed by the city, “was responsible for public safety at the scene of the incident at all times,” the lawsuit says. “They had no or inadequate warning signs indicating the presence of the concrete shaft into which the car had been driven.”

Driver John Doe “failed to slow down, turn or stop to avoid the accident,” the lawsuit says. “He entered the construction site when he knew or should have known it was unsafe to do so.”

The lawsuit also says he “operated a motor vehicle even though his ability to do so was impaired due to alcohol, drugs, fatigue, stress, or a combination of these factors, or because he was not wearing appropriate corrective lenses.”

According to the complaint, John Doe consumed alcohol at the Alley Nightclub, located at 34 Dunlop St. E. in Barrie, on Aug. 26, 2022, and Aug. 27, 2022.

“It is alleged that the House, through its employees, servants or agents, continued to serve alcoholic beverages to John Doe even though there were indications that he was in such a state of intoxication that he might have been a danger to himself and others had he operated a motor vehicle ” – reads the lawsuit.

“As a result of the Bar’s negligence, John Doe operated a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, which resulted in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in the wrongful death of Haley Marin,” the lawsuit reads.

Lazy Ty Inc., doing business as Alley Nightclub, filed an Answer to the Complaint and Counterclaim on June 13, 2024, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

In its response to the complaint, “Alley denies that Defendant John Doe was present on the premises on August 26-27, 2022.”

“Alley denies that she served John Doe any alcoholic beverage on or about August 26/27, 2022” and that “Alley denies that John Doe was under the influence of alcohol on the premises as alleged,” it reads counterclaim.

The lawsuit says Mitchell “permitted an incompetent driver to operate her motor vehicle” and “knew or should have known that the vehicle was not in proper operating condition to operate safely on the highway.” “

Watersand, the claim statement said, “was responsible for the construction, management, operation, design, maintenance and maintenance of and had a duty to keep the highway in reasonable repair.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the cities of Barrie, Condrain, Watersand, Erritt and Schaeffers “failed to exercise reasonable diligence to ensure that the highway was reasonably safe for motor vehicle traffic” and “failed to provide any adequate warning of the existence of a hazard upon entering the construction site.”

Last September, all criminal negligence charges that caused Condrain’s death in connection with the crash were dropped. The court in Barrie heard the Crown had new evidence and the charges could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Concord-based Condrain was indicted in January 2023. Court documents alleged the company “improperly signed and failed to block the temporary closure of McKay Road between County Road 27 and Veterans Drive in accordance with the traffic management plan and contract with Erritt Construction Ltd.” .

Six young people died when the vehicle they were riding in fell into a construction pit in the middle of a closed road, described by the City of Barrie as a “tunnel access shaft.”

On Sunday, August 28, 2022, at approximately 2 a.m., police investigating a missing person checked the construction site and found a vehicle in a large hole in the middle of McKay Road.

Investigators determined that the fatal crash occurred shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday, August 27, 2022. Police say the group was traveling to nearby Gateway Casinos Innisfil (Georgian Downs), near the crash site and just outside the city limits.