Transportation official defends trucking industry after crash that killed Edmonton teacher

Concerns over commercial vehicles after crash CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson spoke with the head of the Alberta Motor Transport Association following concerns with a fatal crash.

EDMONTON — The head of the Alberta Motor Transport Association is defending the trucking industry after two crashes, including a fatal, involving commercial vehicles in Edmonton this week.

Meghan Weis, a 36-year-old Edmonton teacher, was killed Wednesday when an eight-wheel convertor dolly broke free from a semi truck and crashed into her mini-van.

Tuesday, a man suffered serious injuries when his vehicle was hit by dual wheels from a truck.

The driver of that truck will not be facing charges.

“This is a horrible, horrible incident to happen,” said Alberta Motor Transport Association president Chris Nash. “However, a good majority of our carriers out there take this seriously and safety is their priority.”

According to Nash, over 23,000 carriers hit the road in Alberta Wednesday.

“When you have an incident happen, think of the miles that have been driven successfully,” he said.

Nash believes the current regulations for commercial vehicles are sufficient.

“From a federal, provincial perspective the oversight is there,” he said. “There’s responsibilities that have to be taken by everybody that‘s a stakeholder in this.

“As an industry we know that there are carriers out there that are a little unscrupulous,” said Nash. “We work hard to give all the tools to industry to be able to deal with that.”

Cst. Andrew Hiller, from the Edmonton Police Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit, told CTV News Wednesday that Edmonton sees issues with commercial trucks all over the city.

“There’s definitely equipment issues around the city,” he said. “It varies, could be from driver error to the equipment itself.”

CTV News reached out to Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver, who is currently in self-isolation.

“Safety on our roads is the top priority,” McIver’s office told CTV News in a written statement.

“It’s the responsibility of commercial vehicle owners to ensure they are inspected,” the statement went on to say.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson