Recklessness and wisdom of youth laid bare in heartbreaking testimony
Sometimes we need reminding of just how reckless humans can be as teens and how what represents a threat to an adult might be shrugged off by a youth and vice versa.
That was made evident Wednesday afternoon at the fatality inquiry into the Feb. 6, 2016, deaths of Evan and Jordan Caldwell on the bobsled run at WinSport.
Daniel Spalding, a “forever friend” of the Caldwell twins, testified before Provincial Court Judge Margaret Keelaghan about not only what happened that February night but also on Jan. 26, 2016, when he, Evan Caldwell and mutual church friend Caleb Hettinga had slid three times down the bobsled track with no issues.
Toward the end of his testimony, the 20-year-old was reminded by inquiry counsel Nancy McCurdy that the purpose of a fatality inquiry is not to find blame but to prevent similar deaths from occurring, and what, if anything, he could recommend that might have prevented their deaths that night.
Spalding said a seven-foot chain-link fence on the upper road to WinSport was certainly no barrier to the eight teens. The four-foot gate at the bobsled start-house was simply stepped over, and the signs saying “No Trespassing ” didn’t deter them.
Twice he admitted that they all knew they were trespassing, but they never thought they were hurting anyone and didn’t damage the premises, so they couldn’t see how they were doing any harm.
Since the fatalities, chain-link fencing with unbarbed wire at the top has been installed around all of the start houses along the bobsled and luge tracks, something Spalding said likely wouldn’t have dissuaded them, either. They would have just hopped onto the sliding track a bit farther down the hill to gain access to the ice.
What about the new signs that have since been put up at each start house that warn of risk of injury or death?
Nope. That could happen crossing the street, he reasoned.
So what would be viewed as a significant barrier to a teen risking a ride down the bobsled run if not potential death or injury?
“I think if there was a sign saying that if you are caught trespassing there is a fine of $2,000, we would have reconsidered,” said Spalding.
It was as if a light bulb went off over the heads of every person over age 25 in the courtroom, as we remembered our teen years and being perpetually broke and having to work many hours to make little money. It was a statement that made some of us involuntarily smile and feel like bursting into tears at the same time, as it highlights just what vibrancy and innocence was lost when Shauna and Jason Caldwell’s “superstar kids” were killed that terrible night.
Jordan Caldwell was student council president at Westmount Charter school and, like his brother, volunteered with Syrian refugees, helping them settle into their new homes. Evan Caldwell read the morning announcements over the PA system at Ernest Manning High School, where he attended to focus on special engineering classes. Both boys were straight-A students, never were involved with drugs or alcohol, and Evan received news of a full-ride engineering scholarship to Queen’s University just days before his death.
Both Evan and Jordan had worked at WinSport over the winter of 2014-15 and garnered a sense of safety and benevolence around the place.
Jason Caldwell said their boys, who will forever remain 17, were hosts who because of their friendliness were often invited to fill out a tourist bobsled that needed another person. They loved it.
On Jan. 26, 2016, it was Evan who convinced his friends Spalding and Hettinga to go for a joyride down the bobsled track. They all wore helmets and head lamps and everything “went smoothly,” testified Spalding.
On Feb. 6, Spalding said it was his idea to go back to WinSport, a plan discussed at their Friday night church youth group at Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel. The difference this time was a barrier on the bobsled track was in place where the bobsled and luge tracks converge. The walllike structure made of steel and aluminum and covered by white “hockey boards” was locked into place with a thick chain.
Since the deaths, that barrier is now left in a neutral position every night.
Spalding testified that he and brothers Wilson and Eric Schultz, who were visiting from Wetaskiwin, rode the second plastic sled down the ice, getting a push from Jordan to get more speed. Wilson broke his ankle on that ride, so Spalding started to run back up the hill in a frantic effort to warn Jordan and David Carr — who were on the last of the three plastic sleds — from going down the track, but he was too late — his yells swallowed up by the vastness of the space.
Even though Evan and Jordan Caldwell rode two separate sleds, their bodies were found just feet apart from one another farther up the track from where the other injured teens lay.
Counsel for WinSport did not ask Spalding any questions, but later when asked by media, Spalding said that night is “the biggest regret of his life and that losing two such great friends is something he thinks about every day. It’s always with me.”
Nevertheless, like the Caldwell boys and their parents, Spalding says the tragedy has actually strengthened his Christian faith.
“My walk with Jesus is so close now. This event and my understanding of what is important has really changed to more of an eternal perspective. I know I’m going to see Evan and Jordan again because of their strong faith in Jesus,” Spalding told Postmedia. “That’s what really matters, that and helping others to know about how to ensure their eternal destiny. I don’t want people to risk that.”
Wise words from one so young.