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Twin Brothers Die, 6 Other Teens Injured, After Sneaking Into Olympic Bobsled Track After Hours, Crashing At High Speeds

By Tara West
Published on: 12:22 PST, Feb 7, 2016

Two 17-year-old twin brothers are dead after a tragic accident at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. The teens and six other friends sneaked into the closed facility to go down the Olympic bobsled track in their own personal sled. However, the group of eight teens crashed into a gate that separates the bobsled track from the luge while going at a high rate of speed, the twin brothers were pronounced dead on the scene and the police say that several of the other teens were critically injured in the accident. In fact, it was noted that next of kin has not been notified in some of the cases due to the fact that the injured could not be identified due to their severe injuries.

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The Daily Mail reports that 17-year-old twin brothers Jordan and Evan Caldwell died on the Canada Olympic Park bobsled track in the early morning hours of Saturday. The teens allegedly sneaked into the facility with six other friends to ride their personal bobsled on the large track. However, as the eight teens road the bobsled down the large track at high speeds, they slammed into a large gate that separates the bobsled from the luge.

The twins reportedly worked for the park last winter, which is owned by WinSport Canada. Therefore, the teens likely knew how to get in and out of the park despite the facility remaining closed in the late night hours. An employee of the Canada Olympic Park reportedly called for help at 1:30 am when the worker discovered “several” injured teens on the closed bobsled track.

Police report that two teens, twin brothers Jordan and Evan Caldwell, were declared dead on the scene and six other teens were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. The injuries, according to police, range from minor to severe. The police say that the names of the other six injured will not be released yet as the next of kin has not been notified in all situation due to the fact that police have not been able to identify all of the victims due to the nature of their injuries. Police also note that they have not yet spoken to the surviving teens as they are “severely traumatized” and need time to recover.

Following the horror bobsled accident, others have taken to social media to say that security should be tightened on the facility as they know of other individuals who have accessed the track after hours. However, the WinSport Canada CEO of site operations Barry Heck says that safety is a priority and he was not aware of any previous incidents of individuals being on the tracks after hours.

“I have heard of incidents of people coming into the park. I do not personally know of any incidents of anyone being on the sliding track. Today is the most tragic day in WinSport history.”

Though Heck says he is unaware of people actually using the dangerous track after-hours, other former employees say it is a “tradition” and that it has happened frequently in the past. Brian Grant, a former WinSport employee, told CBC News that it wasn’t uncommon for staff to come to the park after-hours to slide down the track. He says that when Cool Runnings was being filmed at the Calgary park, he and other workers came to the facility after hours and slid down the track on seat cushions, but quickly realized the danger as they lost control and had to grab onto the sides in a bid to slow themselves down.

Though police have not released how fast the teens were going when they hit the fence, it was reported that a four-man bobsled team would have been going nearly 60 mph at that point on the track and that with eight teens in the sled, the speeds could have been faster. Grant says that there is “no way” the teens could have stopped a bobsled after leaving the top of the track as the speeds would be too great.

Meanwhile, the twin’s family says that the boys were “bright lights” and that their death is a reminder that life is “but a vapor.” With the incident claiming the life of two teens and others claiming they also have used the track after hours, do you think WinSport will now hire night security to guard the track from joyriders?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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