Mayor Tony Major says the town is reeling from the fatal accident that took the life of a Rocky Harbour man Sunday morning.
The man and a woman were walking along Route 430 when they were struck from behind by a vehicle travelling on the Viking Trail Highway.
The man died later in hospital, while the woman was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and later released.
Major said the man and woman were former residents who had recently moved back.
He said the man who was driving the vehicle that hit them is also from Rocky Harbour.
“It’s a job to put into words what the feeling is like here today,” Major said in an interview Monday. “We have two or three families directly affected by this and many people in town who knew the people involved.”
The accident is being investigated by the RCMP. The police said the couple was walking in a southbound direction and the vehicle that stuck them was going in the same direction.
Major said many local residents go for walks on the highway in that direction, namely with traffic and not against it.
While the weather and road conditions were good at the time, Major wondered if bright sunlight may have been a factor. The mayor said he made the southbound turn onto the highway in the same area as the accident early one morning last week and the sun was low in the sky and in his direct line of vision.
“It’s never a good time for something like this to happen, but it’s especially hard this time of year with Christmas just a week away,” said Major.
