The man who was one of the first to the scene of the horrific crash that killed 7 people on Highway 63 says he is still haunted by what he saw that day.
Dion Lefebvre and a co-worker were driving on the highway when they were passed by a pickup truck just minutes before the head on crash.
He immediately ran to the wreckage.
“Instinct kicked in. Obviously hearing Timmy and the cries I knew there was…I just followed the cries, wanted to get him out as quickly as possible,” Lefebvre tells Global News, “He was in a chaotic and traumatic environment and I tried to get him out as fast as I could.”
Timmy is 3-year-old Timothy Wheaton, who survived the crash thanks to Lefebvre pulling him to safety. Timothy’s parents Shannon and Trena and his 2 year old brother Benjamin all died in the crash.
The Wheaton’s friends Mark Penney and his wife Courtney, who was six months pregnant, were also trapped in the vehicle. Mark made it out alive, his wife did not.
“I didn’t think anybody could make it through that crash,” says Lefebvre, “I didn’t expect to find any survivors when I approached. The people that did… it’s definitely a miracle.”
Two men in the other truck were also killed. Lefebvre pulled out an 11 year old girl but she died in hospital.
For Lefebvre, it was an all too familiar sight as he has seen numerous close calls on Highway 63.
“I’ve stopped travelling the highways on Thursdays and Sundays because of the amount of improper passes I’ve seen,” he says, “We counted one time and there was 43 between Marianna Lakes and Grassland…. illegal passes.”
Premier Alison Redford says the province is making twinning the highway a priority, but so far only 33 of the 250 kilometres have been divided.
The MP for the Fort McMurray area, Brian Jean, says Ottawa has offered its help to get things done.
"This project is very important to the people of northern Alberta,” says Jean, “and I've heard from the Premier that she's very interested in fast tracking it so I'm excited about that and I know the people in northern Alberta are very excited about it."
Jean says the federal Tories have tried to reduce the red tape to help move the project forward.
"Well the federal government actually came to the table in 2006 - a month after being elected and allocated $150 million for the twinning of Highway 63. So the federal government responded to the request of the Alberta government and will continue to help in any way we can.”
It’s something Lefebvre says is long overdue.
With files from Kendra Slugoski
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.