Siksika woman thankful to be alive after hit-and-run kills two people, injures another

Family is speaking out after a crash on the Siksika Nation on Saturday night left two men dead, a woman in hospital and two others thankful to be alive.

It was supposed to be a family walk on Siksika Nation on Saturday night—but it turned deadly with two men killed and a woman sent to hospital in critical condition.

Now, a man is in custody, charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

RCMP say five people were walking along the roadway when members of the Siksika family were run over by a vehicle.

Family have identified the deceased as Trayton Running Bird, 27, and Clifton Saddle Back, 45.

Emiline Turning Robe, 45, was taken to hospital.

“No one deserves to die like that. No one ever, ever deserves to get taken and left like that,” said Sade Panther Bone in an interview with CTV News.

“I want them to have justice. They deserve it; they really do.”

Panther Bone is the daughter of Turning Robe and was in a relationship with Running Bird.

She says she has lost the love of her life, who was a father and who recently proposed to her.

Panther Bone says the incident was a purposeful attack.

“I know exactly who they are, and they know what they did because right after they hit him, they just stuck their finger and laughed at me and drove off,” said Panther Bone.

“How could someone so evil do that to you?”

Panther Bone says there were at least three people in the vehicle, which she describes as a dark-grey Toyota pickup truck.

“I heard the engine rev; I had a feeling,” she said.

“I was like, you guys, we should get out of the way, get in the field. I feel like they’re going to hit us. We scattered and we ran, and that truck intentionally came and he tried to clip all five of us. Me and my friend got out of the way. He hit my mom, her boyfriend and my husband was last.”

Panther Bone says her family and the group in the pickup truck were involved in an altercation earlier that night.

She says she and her friend are thankful to be alive, but she is grieving the losses of both men and the injuries her mom suffered.

“Someone was watching us because I was beside my mom and her boyfriend, and my friend was beside my husband, and I don’t know how we did not (get hit) because they intentionally drove off the road, and they were trying to hit all five of us and me and my friend were the safest ones,” said Panther Bone.

“It was just a little traumatic to see them like that.”

She says she is now seeking justice for Running Bird and Saddle Back.

Her cousin, Brenna Little Light, says the tragedy has shaken the entire family.

“Just a lot of anger and sadness, as expected,” said Little Light.

On Monday evening, RCMP said they had laid charges in connection with the incident.

Adolphus Weaselchild, 27, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

The Siksika resident remains in custody.

The truck has also been recovered.

Mounties also identified Running Bird and Saddle Back on Monday evening.

Turning Robe remains in hospital in critical condition.

RCMP are interested in speaking with anyone who has video footage of the area of 54 Map 3 Subdivision between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Anyone with information or footage is asked to contact the Gleichen RCMP at 403-734-3923.

Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers.