On Saturday March 26th, 2016 just after 7:00am EMS from Calgary and Strathmore, along with Rocky View Fire Department and RCMP responded to a two vehicle crash on Highway 797 (Range Road 272) and Township Road 240. What they arrived to was a heartbreaking scene that has rocked the communities of Langdon and Chestermere once again.
This serious collision between a small car and an SUV and left two people dead at the scene – a woman in her late 20’s that had been an occupant in the SUV and the lone occupant of the small car, 19 year old Quinton Peplinski – both from Langdon.
There were two other people in the SUV, who were transported to Foothills Hospital, both in serious but stable condition: a male in his 50s was transported by ground ambulance from Strathmore, and a woman in her 40s was flown by STARS. The identities of these two people along with their 28 year old passenger that did not survive the crash have not yet been released to the public.
As the news of this crash spread on Saturday morning and it was confirmed that young Peplinski had not survived, the Langdon community came together to gather food, money and support for the families and friends of those involved in the crash.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help raise funds to support those that were involved in the crash and their families. You can donate by visiting www.gofundme.com/akw36s7w and a trust account will also be opened at the Mountain View Credit Union in Langdon.
As Facebook tributes began to be posted over the weekend, this young man was remember by his friends and community as always smiling and being an amazing person. One tribute read “May you rest in peace. You will never be forgotten”.
Peplinski who was a Chestermere High School graduate and also played AA hockey in Chestermere was given a special tribute at a gold medal hockey game on Sunday at the Chestermere Recreation Centre as the players hung Peplinski’s jersey above their bench.
The loss of this beloved youth and hockey player comes especially hard to the Chestermere hockey community as it is the third loss this tight knit group as had in under a year. Last year these communities were shattered when a collision on June 9th took the life of 17 year old Jaydon Sommerfeld and then a month later on July 12th, another accident claimed the life of 16 year old Markus Lavallee.
RCMP are investigating the factors leading to this collision. Highway 797 south of Highway 1, remained closed by the RCMP for several hours on Saturday and the highway reopened shortly before 2:00 p.m.
At the time of this article the occupants of the SUV have still not been released or the condition of the two surviving victims.
