The families of three Sudbury residents who died in a boating accident on Lake Wanapitei in 2013 are getting the coroner's inquest they've been asking for since the crash nearly four years ago.
During the Canada Day long weekend in 2013, Matthew Humeniuk, Stephanie Bertrand and Robert Dorzek spent the day at their friend Michael Kritz's camp on Gavin Island, at the northeast end of the Lake Wanapitei.
The night of June 29, 2013, the group boarded a boat Humeniuk was operating to attend a party at the other end of the lake.
Shortly after midnight, Humeniuk crashed the boat onto a small island. All four people on board were thrown from the boat and injured after the crash, according to documents submitted to the Sudbury courthouse.
From there, things only got worse. According to numerous reports, Dorzek, the only one able to call for help that night, phoned 911. That rescue effort — which took an hour — was hampered by a 911 dispatcher who had trouble finding the crash location, despite having been sent a map that included the GPS coordinates of the location.
That same dispatcher instructed Dorzek to light a signal fire to assist rescuers. In the dry conditions, that fire spread and igniting the crashed boat. Kritz died in the fire.
Ever since, the victims' families have been calling for a coroner's inquest into what exactly happened with the emergency response that night.
Today, Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's chief coroner, announced the families will be getting the inquest they've been calling for. That same inquest will also look into the circumstances surrounding the Sept. 3, 2014, death of Casselman resident Kathryn Missen, 54, who died as a result of a medical condition.
"While the circumstances of these two incidents are different, the commonality shared among the four deaths concerns Ontario's 911 response system," the coroner's office said in a news release. "Section 25(2) of the Coroners Act permits a joint inquest where two or more deaths appear to have occurred in the same event or from a common cause."
The inquest will examine the events surrounding each of these deaths and "will provide an opportunity to enhance understanding of the 911 system and the co-ordination of emergency responders," the coroner's office said.
Details regarding the date, location and presiding coroner will be provided when the information becomes available.
