Students, staff in Walkerton return to school after crash killed students and coach

CTV News

26-05-2025

Young people embrace near a memorial at Walkerton District Community School in Walkerton, Ont. on May 25, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins
WALKERTON — As a small Ontario town continues to grapple with the sudden deaths of four teenage girls and their teacher, students and staff went back to school on Monday morning to find mental health resources on offer.
Bluewater District School Board spokesperson Jamie Pettit said mental health and tragedy response teams were ready as students and staff returned to Walkerton District Community School after an accident he described as a 'horrible tragedy.'
Matt Eckert, 33, and four teenage girls were killed in a crash when their SUV collided with a transport truck and another SUV just northeast of London, Ont. on Friday, while they were returning from a sporting event.
Walkerton victims identified
Victims of crash near London, Ont. identified.
And Walkerton, Ont., a small town of around 4,500 people, has been in mourning ever since.
More than a thousand people, some of whom travelled from neighboring towns, gathered outside the girls' school Sunday evening to show support.
Students and residents lined up, holding lit candles and placing them on the ground outside the school entrance by a pile of colourful flowers and a brown teddy bear.
'Hits close to home'
Andrew Boutilier said he came to the vigil, where mourners shared prayers, tears and hugs, to be there for the families and friends of the victims.
'It kind of hits close to home, especially when you have a teenager living at home,' he said, adding his 17-year-old son goes to the same school.
Not only that, but Boutilier is a tow-truck driver who routinely responds to collision sites.
As a father, he said, it was difficult 'knowing that, you know, it could have been your kid that was in that vehicle.'
He said his teen spent the day with friends to cope with the tragedy in his own way.
'But you know, it's gonna be a day by day kind of thing, and you just try to be there for him as best as you can to help him get through it.'
Ontario Provincial Police and the school board did not publicly release the names of the students, but police said two girls were 16 and two were 17 years old.
Tara Twins Minor Softball identified two of the victims as Rowan McLeod and Kaydance Ford, saying both were members of the team.
'Our entire Twins family is reeling from this loss, and our hearts go out to the families, friends and teammates of these beautiful athletes,' the team said in a statement posted on Facebook.
'This tragedy hits harder for this association knowing that they were returning from playing the very sport of softball.'
Bluewater Ballistix Volleyball Club identified Danica Baker as another of the victims.
The team said in a social media post that they were grieving the tragic loss of someone described by those who knew her as 'a true ray of light,' and someone whose spirit 'lit up every room and every volleyball court she stepped onto.'
Eckert was also an assistant coach with the Owen Sound NorthStars Junior B Lacrosse club.
Pettit, the school board's spokesperson, said the staff gathered ahead of students' return to school, where he said there would be a 'lot of heavy lifting' required to help students through the initial stages of shock and grief.
'When you have five individuals in one event with a significant loss of life, it certainly does resonate and send a ripple throughout the community. I think the impact is going to be felt for a long time,' Pettit said.
The mayor of Brockton, the municipality that includes Walkerton, was among the crowd of mourners at Sunday evening's vigil.
Chris Peabody described the tragedy as an 'indescribable grief.'
'It's an absolute cloud and pall across the town, and it's, it's going to take a long while to even get on the road to recovery. It is so devastating,' he said in an interview.
He said he had mixed emotions seeing the crowd of mourners.
'It made me feel proud that so many people would come out to support, but very upsetting.'