Second person dies following Cape Breton crash

The adult male driver of this van was taken to the Victoria County Memorial Hospital in Baddeck.

A second person has died following a four-vehicle crash near Baddeck, N.S. earlier this week.

Elizabeth O’Connell, 45, passed away in hospital Wednesday afternoon. O’Connell’s 52-year-old fiancé, Marty Claude Robbins, was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday morning.

Police say the accident happened when a courier van attempted to pass on a double line near St. Patrick’s Channel in Cape Breton.

A 31-year-old New Brunswick man has been charged under the province’s Motor Vehicle Act for driving to the left of a solid double line, which carries a fine of $284.91.

Police say two passenger vehicles and a tractor-trailer were also involved in the crash.

“It’s a bit of chain reaction,” says RCMP Cpl. Ron MacDonald. “You have a minor collision which sets vehicles going in the wrong place, and then you have more collisions. That appears to be what happened here.”

Witnesses tell CTV News the eastbound van triggered the multi-vehicle crash after it veered across the centre line on a curve in a no-pass zone.

They say it then sideswiped the oncoming tractor-trailer, spun out and smashed into a Grand Am, driven by Robbins.

The adult male driver of the tractor-trailer was also taken to the Victoria County Memorial Hospital in Baddeck to be treated for non life-threatening injuries.

The adult male driver of a Toyota Corolla was not injured in the crash. Witnesses say he escaped injury by veering into a ditch, just feet from where the jackknifed transport truck crashed.

Meanwhile, the driver of a fifth vehicle carrying shuttle passengers is being hailed as a hero after he managed to steer clear of the crash entirely.

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” says shuttle driver Jim Close. “I never want to see it again.”

Close was shuttling five passengers in the van, which narrowly avoided the collision when it was brushed by the out-of-control courier van.

“It just happened so fast. I seen the van hit the tractor-trailer, then he came around the tractor-trailer and hit the car directly in front of me,” Close describes of the scene. “I don’t know how I got between them. I got touched by the van. I don’t have any idea how I got through it.”

One of Close’s passengers says his quick maneuvers may have saved lives.

“When that other van hit the side of us, he just kept going,” says shuttle passenger Lorraine Burke. “He swerved out and in and out. Everything was hitting us. He’s an excellent driver.”

The crash shut down Highway 105 for most of the day Tuesday and hundreds of motorists were forced to take lengthy detours while investigators examined the scene.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Randy MacDonald