An evening of celebrations and hope for the future turned into a somber occasion when two EDSS students were involved in a fatal collision on Barnswallow Drive in Elmira around 10:30 p.m. Friday.
The incident followed the high school’s commencement ceremony.
The students’ black Dodge pickup truck was travelling north on Barnswallow Drive and lost control, striking another pickup truck parked in a driveway before the vehicle caught fire. Waterloo Regional Police have confirmed that Elmira residents 18-year-old Miles Hamilton, the passenger, and 17-year-old Brendon Fitzgerald, the driver, were pulled from the burning vehicle by the responding officers.
Hamilton was pronounced dead at the scene. Fitzgerald was taken to Hamilton General Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police believe speed was a factor.
Police are asking anyone who saw the collision or the Dodge truck prior to the crash to call 519-653-7700, ext. 8856.