Accidents: 1)’Grieving together’: 3 players on Alberta junior hockey team dead in vehicle crash 2)(Updated) ‘Hitting everybody so hard’: Alberta town remembers 3 hockey players killed in crash(Updated); 3)Driver quickly arrested by Barrie police after fleeing collisionHands off the phone. 4)Barrie police say distracted driving is leading cause of serious crashes Derailed train near Toronto’s Union Station causing major delays, commuter chaos; 5) Orillia man charged following Springwater collision that injured four; 6)(Updated) Derailed train near Toronto’s Union Station causing major delays, commuter chaos 7)Garage fire ignited by vehicle: Barrie Fire

1)’Grieving together’: 3 players on Alberta junior hockey team dead in vehicle crash

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, February 3, 2026

Three players on an Alberta junior hockey team killed in a crash while heading to practice are being remembered as exceptional young men who had a spark in their eyes for the sport.

The Southern Alberta Mustangs in the small town of Stavely announced the deaths in a Facebook post Monday.

“There are no words that can adequately express the depth of our grief,” the team said.

“These young men were more than hockey players — they were teammates, sons, brothers, friends, and deeply loved members of our Mustangs family and the communities we call home.”

RCMP said officers responded to the Monday morning crash at an intersection with Highway 2 in the town, about an hour’s drive south of Calgary.

It involved a northbound semi truck hauling gravel and a small passenger vehicle that was heading east.

JJ Wright and Cameron Casorso, both 18 and from Kamloops, B.C., and 17-year-old Caden Fine from Alabama were killed.

The driver of the semi, a 40-year-old man from Stavely, received minor injuries, Mounties said.

A photo posted on a Facebook page of a family member of one of the players showed a memorial at the town’s arena — three white and red jerseys with the last names of the players draped over a table, along with three upright hockey sticks.

The Mustangs play in the U.S. Premier Hockey League’s Premier Division, which the league describes as being “known for developing players into college-ready athletes.”

Mike Gilroy, a former player co-ordinator with the Mustangs, worked with the three players last summer.

He also spoke with Fine’s father before the player was looking at moving to Alberta from Alabama.

“That was his dream — to play in Canada,” said Gilroy, adding all three were excited about playing hockey and where the sport might take them.

They were inspiring, he said.

“They had the spark in their eyes and the fire in their hearts every day and enjoyed being a part of a team and took the time to put in the extra work to be successful.

“It is far too soon for young, talented people like this.”

Blake Linquist, who played with Wright in Kamloops, said his former teammate was a great player who had a good sense of humour and cared for those around him.

“He would always like to throw jokes and make everyone else laugh,” the 16-year-old said. “He was honestly a best friend on and off the ice.

“He was the best person you’d ever meet.”

Thunder Camille, another former teammate, said he met Wright six years ago and remembers the player always wearing a smile.

Wright once dislocated his knee during a game, but he got right back up to support his team from off the ice, Camille said.

“Even when he wasn’t able to be on the ice, he still had our backs,” Camille said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, in a social media post, offered condolences to the families and teammates.

“The whole Alberta hockey family is standing with you in sorrow and in prayer,” said Smith.

“In the days ahead, I know Albertans will wrap these families and this team in love and support as they navigate a pain no one should ever have to bear.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney also said he was heartbroken by the news.

“Canadians are keeping the entire Southern Alberta Mustangs community in our thoughts as they face this unimaginable grief,” he said on social media.

The Kamloops Minor Hockey Association said in a statement that Casorso and Wright grew up in the B.C. organization. Casorso played from 2012 to 2025 and Wright from 2011 to 2025.

“Although their journeys began here in Kamloops, they found a second hockey family and a new bond with the Southern Alberta Mustangs,” it said.

“These three young men were teammates and friends to many. We are grieving together, as one hockey family forever changed by the loss of these young men.”

The Calgary Flames, with the National Hockey League, also offered support on social media: “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who knew them.”

For some, news of the crash evoked memories of another deadly crash involving a junior hockey team.

Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League crashed in April 2018. The team had been on its way to a playoff game when a semi truck blew through a stop sign and into the path of the bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask.

The Broncos posted condolences for the Alberta team on social media.

“There are no words – only heavy hearts … we stand with you. We mourn with you. We are with you.”

2)(Updated) ‘Hitting everybody so hard’: Alberta town remembers 3 hockey players killed in crash

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Bill Graveland, February 3, 2026

Tributes across Canada and the hockey community have embraced a small Alberta town, where three junior hockey players died in a car crash trying to cross a divided highway to get to morning practice.

Although most of the Southern Alberta Mustangs are not from Stavely, they fit right in, said resident Dale Ohler.

He and others would watch out their front windows as players went by on their routine runs, a coach’s young daughter sometimes trailing behind them on her bicycle.

Players also clean yards, volunteer with local clubs and join in on exercises at the seniors centre.

“(It’s) hitting everybody so hard,” Ohler said Tuesday outside the Stavely Arena, where three white jerseys and hockey sticks were set up in a memorial.

“I was speechless for a while.”

The crash happened Monday morning at a highway entrance to Stavely, just over an hour’s drive south of Calgary.

RCMP said the three players were in a car travelling east across the highway when it collided with a northbound semi-truck hauling two trailers of gravel.

The Mustangs said the players — JJ Wright and Cameron Casorso, both 18, were from Kamloops, B.C., and Caden Fine, 17, was from Alabama — had been on their way to practice.

The truck driver, who is from Stavely, received minor injures.

The Mustangs play in the U.S. Premier Hockey League’s Premier Division. While the league is mainly based south of the border, an Alberta-based conference was formed ahead of this season after the Mustangs and three other teams joined.

“These young men were not just hockey players, but an important part of the fabric of our community, contributing through their character, their friendships, and the promise they carried into the future,” the town said in a statement.

Family members, friends, former teammates and coaches described the three as exceptional young men who lived for the sport.

In Ottawa, the House of Commons observed a moment of silence in memory of the players, and Prime Minister Mark Carney said his heart goes out to their families.

National Hockey League superstar Connor McDavid called the deaths tragic.

“Something that touched close to home,” the Edmonton Oilers captain said ahead of a home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers were also to have a pre-game tribute for the victims.

“Obviously in our sport, we do spend a lot of time travelling place to place, whether that’s for games on buses or in vehicles to practices. And it’s very unfortunate that happened to three young men,” added Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.

For many, the crash evoked memories of the deadly Humboldt Broncos collision near Tisdale, Sask., in April 2018.

A semi truck barrelled through a stop sign and into the path of a bus carrying the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team to a playoff game. Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured.

The highway crossing at Stavely is controlled by stop signs with flashing lights for those heading west and east. There’s a median in between the divided lanes but with no signs.

Tire tracks and a downed light pole could be seen in a field near the intersection Tuesday.

Like many at-grade junctures on the Prairies, vehicles on the main highway have the right of way to those approaching off a smaller road.

A crash at a similar intersection near Carberry, Man., killed 17 people, most of them seniors, headed to a casino in 2023. Their bus crossed into the path of a semi-trailer heading down a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Manitoba government has announced plans to replace the intersection with an overpass that area residents had long demanded.

Cpl. Gina Slaney said Mounties were continuing to investigate the Stavely crash and that reconstructionists had attended the scene.

“It takes some time for their reports to come back. So, at this time, we’re not 100 per cent sure of exactly what happened,” she said.

A spokesperson for Alberta’s Transportation Ministry said in a statement the province would do its own review of the crash and the intersection.

Slaney said there was another fatal crash at the intersection in September. It also involved a vehicle trying to cross the main highway, she said.

Ohler called the intersection “terrible.”

“The Stavely people do a special turn there because of how scary it is going across that road,” he said. “You have to watch and turn a certain way so you can see the highway better.”

The mayor of Nanton, a nearby town where many players live with billet families, told reporters such highway crossings are a fact of life for rural towns.

“We drive these roads and cross these intersections every day. We know the risks,” said Jen Handley, wearing a Mustang jerseys while standing with the team’s owner and head coach outside the Stavely rink.

Her family is also a Mustang billet.

“We pray they’re safe,” she said “And yet we always live with the ‘what if.’ Yesterday, that ‘what if’ has taken three young lives.”

She said a benefit hockey game was being organized for Sunday to bring players and the community together in support of the team.

“These young men were loved here. They will be remembered here,” Handley said.

Rochelle Graham of Stavely, a trained minister, was also at the arena to offer help to those seeking comfort.

“People aren’t sure what would happen when they walk in … so if they needed just someone to listen, then I was here for them.”

— With files from Steve Lambert in Winnipeg, and Jack Farrell, Fakiha Baig and Gemma Karstens-Smith in Edmonton

3)Driver quickly arrested by Barrie police after fleeing collision

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Ian MacLennan, February 6, 2026

A man attempted to outrun the law, and he lost.

Around 11 p.m. on Thursday, Barrie police responded to a two-vehicle collision on Dunlop Street West, where both vehicles sustained significant damage.

No injuries were reported, but police said one of the drivers fled on foot, taking off behind a nearby building. Officers were on scene within minutes, at which point the individual attempted to evade them by running off and hopping over several fences.

Within 10 minutes, police arrested the man. While taking him into custody, officers detected a strong odour of alcohol on his breath. The 33-year-old from Innisfil was taken to police headquarters and a qualified breathalyzer technician confirmed he was well over the legal alcohol limit.

The accused has been charged with:

The man’s driver’s licence has been suspended for 90 days, and his vehicle has been impounded for seven days.

4) Hands off the phone. Barrie police say distracted driving is leading cause of serious crashes

Courtesy Barrie360.com
By Ian MacLennan, February 4, 2026

Barrie police say distracted driving is just as dangerous as impaired driving.

Hands-free while behind the wheel means just that.

“While it’s tempting to reach for your phone at a red light to send a quick text telling someone you’re on your way, it is illegal to use a hand-held device behind the wheel unless calling 911, according to the Highway Traffic Act,” police said in a news release.

A hand-held device goes beyond just a cell phone. It can include tablets, other communication or entertainment devices, and display screens showing things unrelated to driving, such as a computer or video. In other words, police say hands-free driving involves not scrolling, typing our touching a device while operating a vehicle.

Det. Const. Ron Hunt with the Barrie Police Service Traffic Unit emphasizes how significant the consequences of distracted driving can be.

“Imagine being notified by a police officer that your loved one has passed away in a motor vehicle collision. The officer turns over the cell phone to their loved one only to discover they died texting a friend a simple message like, ‘I’m running late,’ or ‘Can’t wait to see you’.”
Penalties for distracted driving increase with each conviction.

For fully licensed drivers:
First offence: The fine starts at $615 and can be as high as $1,000, three demerit points, and a three-day licence suspension upon conviction
Second offence: A fine up to $2,000, six demerit points, and a seven-day licence suspension upon conviction
Third or subsequent offence: A fine up to $3,000, six demerit points, and a 30-day licence suspension upon conviction

Novice drivers, those with a G1, G2, M1 and M2 licence, face stiffer penalties, and could even have their licence cancelled for repeat offences.

4) Orillia man charged following Springwater collision that injured four

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, February 4, 2026

A 19-year-old Orillia man has been charged following a two-vehicle collision in Springwater on August 1 that resulted in four hospitalizations.

Charges were laid against the man on January 22, and he is facing three count of careless driving causing bodily harm. He is set to appear in court in Barrie on February 24.

Huronia West OPP say the crash occurred at around 5:30 p.m. on Crossland Road and Flos Road 4 where one vehicle reportedly rolled into the ditch. Police, Springwater Fire, and Simcoe County Paramedics all responded to the scene.

As a result of the collision, a female passenger was airlifted to a Toronto hospital in life-threatening condition, and the male driver was taken to the Barrie hospital with serious injuries. The driver and passenger in the other vehicle were transported to Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, also with serious injuries.

OPP had put out a call for dashcam video or for any potential witnesses to come forward

5)(Updated) Derailed train near Toronto’s Union Station causing major delays, commuter chaos

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Canadian Press Staff, February 2, 2026

Metrolinx is warning of ongoing delays this afternoon and evening after a GO train derailment near Toronto’s Union Station threw the morning commute into chaos and disrupted service across the entire network.

The provincial government agency that runs GO Transit says a slow-moving train leaving Union Station came off the track and made contact with a track switch.

That caused signal problems and reduced the movement of other trains, causing major delays at Canada’s busiest train station.

Metrolinx says the derailed train is still in place and delays on all train service lines are expected to continue through the evening rush hour.

The agency is asking commuters to leave earlier if possible and allow for extra time to get to their destinations.

The derailment also caused a temporary suspension of the UP Express train service between Union Station and Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier in the day.

UP Express trains are now moving but there may be a longer-than-usual wait.

GO Transit is asking people to use the TTC as an alternative, if possible, until the issue is resolved.

More information: GO’s website

6)Garage fire ignited by vehicle: Barrie Fire

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Ian MacLennan, February 1, 2026

A vehicle caught fire in the garage and spread to the attic of a home on Benson Drive, according to a Barrie Fire official.

Crews responded the residence in the city’s north end around 2:20 on Sunday afternoon.

The official told Barrie 360 that a person started their vehicle and then was alerted by their neighbour that their garage was on fire.

The flames were quickly knocked down, and there were no injuries.

Two people have been displaced from the residence.

No damage total is available.