The Barrie Police Service said Sunday that officers found a crashed vehicle about 2 a.m. Sunday near McKay Road and County 27 — a rural intersection near the southwest edge of Barrie and about 90 kilometers north of Toronto. The agency tweeted that “additional details will only be released as the investigation permits.” In an e-mail, Barrie police spokeswoman Janet Mays said four men and two women, all in their 20s, were killed in the crash. Although the force did not name the victims, several sports associations identified three of them on social media as local lacrosse player Luke West and football players River Wells and Curtis King. Although other names were widely circulated on social media, friends and family did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking confirmation. The Barrie Minor Lacrosse Association and the Bombers Jr. club. The city’s C. Lacrosse Club wrote in Facebook posts that Mr. West was a lifelong lacrosse player and two-time provincial lacrosse league champion. “He was beloved in the locker room because of his toughness, tenacity and incredible lacrosse IQ,” both associations wrote in Facebook posts Sunday. Mr. West was born in 2000, the publications said, and had spent time as both a player and coach at several Barrie teams. “The impact you had on your teammates, coaches and the young men you coached is immeasurable, the posts continued. “Few have worked harder in Bomber Blue, few can claim to have lifted us this high.” In a social media post, Simcoe County Football confirmed two of the crash victims were Mr. King and Mr. Wells, who had played for local high school teams. “SCF expresses our deepest condolences to their families and friends who lived with them,” the organization said in a statement. “We don’t just remember these great athletes for what they did on the field, we remember the great people they were.” When reached by The Globe and Mail, representatives of the sports organizations declined to comment further on their statement out of respect for the families. The Globe also spoke briefly with Mr. Wells’ father, Bentley, who said he was not yet emotionally ready to talk about the crash. Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman called the crash a “shocking and horrific tragedy” on Twitter on Sunday, “taking the lives of six young people with all their futures ahead of them.” Ontario Premier Doug Ford tweeted: “We are all hurting today as we learn the tragic news of the car crash and the loss of six young lives. My thoughts are with the friends and families of these young people and I know there will be many in our community who need support in the coming days and weeks.” Our Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
