Two Chisasibi residents are dead after a car failed to stop at an intersection and was knocked into the ditch by a dump truck.
Bella Ratt, 27, was driving the car that didn’t stop at the intersection of Pherpheric Rd. and the James Bay Highway 6 km outside the community.
A truck hit the side of the car, swerved and flipped over, spilling its load of sand.
Bella sustained multiple fractures in the collision and was pronounced dead at the Chisasibi Hospital at 5:20 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28. The accident occurred at 3:45 p.m.
Sarah Ratt-Washapabano, 61, was in the passenger seat of the car and died instantly on impact. She was Bella’s mother.
Also in the car was Bella’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Jenny, who was ejected from the car in the collision. Miraculously, she survived with just a few cuts.
The truck was damaged beyond repair but its driver was unhurt. No charges will be laid in the incident.
Tremblay said an ambulance arrived at the scene only a few minutes after the accident, but community sources say it actually took half an hour.
“I verified it myself,” countered Tremblay, who was responsible for the police investigation of the incident.
He said that according to hospital records the first call about the accident came at 3:50 p.m. and an ambulance was on the scene by 4 p.m.
