Two people have died following Elgin County crash

Calton, Ont. -

Margaret Dyck and her family were inside their Calton, Ont. home Saturday night when they heard a 'loud bang.'

"We looked outside and then we heard the pickup's horn was honking," said Dyck, who saw a pickup truck up against the trampoline on her lawn.

While her husband rushed outside to check on the condition of the men in the truck, her 13-year-old son quickly called 911.

"It was three guys in a vehicle coming from over there, they went in the ditch, and they landed on our trampoline," said Dyck.

Margaret Dyck of Calton, Ont. southeast of Aylmer, Ont. looks toward the scene of a fatal crash on her property Sunday Oct. 10, 2021. (Brent Lale / CTV News)The driver and one of the two passengers who were ejected from the vehicle.

Police have identified the two individuals who passed in the collision as 26-year-old Neil Banman of Chatham-Kent and 29-year-old Peter Harder of Aylmer.

"One of them was beside the trampoline dead, and one of them went all the way to right beside our porch, and died there." Dyck explained.

A 29-year-old of Malahide Township has been charged with two counts of operation while impaired causing death, two counts of operation over 80 casing death, two counts of dangerous operation causing death, and two counts of failing to stop at an accident resulting in death.

Dyck says the family of the Wheatley man had been to the site Sunday cleaning up and collecting some of their son's belongings.

The deaths are number 209 and 210 on OPP-patrolled roads this year. They also come during Operation Impact Weekend, a national traffic safety campaign led by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

"The campaign is reminding motorists all across the country to drive safely, obey the speed limit, don't drive impaired, avoid distractions and wear your seatbelt," says Sgt. Kerry Schmidt of the OPP highway safety division.

“It’s simple, but the sad thing is, we've already seen so many road fatalities already this year."A bent trampoline seen on the property owned by Margaret Dyck in Calton, Ont. A pickup truck with three men crashed into the trampoline, ejecting two men from the vehicle. Oct. 10, 2021. (Brent lale / CTV News)Norfolk County OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk was on scene Saturday night and said speed, alcohol and a lack of seatbelts were contributing factors in the crash. Those are three of the talking points police are emphasizing during Operation Impact.

Prior to the weekend, OPP released the statistics regarding fatalities in 2021.

"A significant number of these 195 road fatalities could have been avoided," OPP said in a news release.Debris from a fatal crash in Calton, Ont. southeast of Aylmer, Ont. Two men in their 20's were killed in the crash, Oct. 10, 2021. (Brent Lale CTV News)"To date, speed has contributed to 51 road deaths. Driver inattention has been linked to 35 fatalities, while lack of seatbelt use among drivers and passengers accounts for the loss of 34 lives. Alcohol/drugs has been a factor in 23 of the deaths."

Dyck says it’s a tragic way to start Thanksgiving weekend.

"It just started, and it's so sad," said Dyck.