WARKWORTH, Ont. - A family friend of two young women involved in a fatal car crash that claimed three lives in eastern Ontario said she's "heart-broken" by the unexpected loss of the girls who were babysitting her son the day before they died.
Brenda Barrett said Saturday she had known Erin Reed, 19, and her life-long friend Robyn Taylor, 20, since the two were six years old.
Both women, along with their 20-year-old friend, Kandas Derry, were killed Friday night when the car they were in was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer near Warkworth, Ont.
Reed and Taylor were both from the small town of Colbourne, while Derry was from nearby Baltimore.
Provincial police said they had pulled onto the shoulder of the road with the intention of making a U-turn when they were struck by the tractor-trailer.
The driver of the truck escaped without serious injuries.
Speaking from the Reed family home, Barrett choked back tears as she described her reaction to the university student's death.
"I'm heart-broken," she said in an interview. "She comes from a beautiful, wonderful family and she will be greatly missed by everyone."
Barrett issued a statement on behalf of the Reed and Taylor families, expressing appreciation for the support they've received and requesting privacy.
She said she had known both Reed and Taylor for 13 years, adding that both had been at her home Thursday, babysitting her youngest son.
Barrett said Reed is currently attending university in Toronto, but she did not specify which school.
She declined to provide details of the accident and said she did not know where the girls were headed at the time of the crash.
Police are continuing to investigate the accident.
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Article online since May 17th 2008, 0:00
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