An N.H.L. star is dead – and another is accused of causing his death. Former Leaf captain Rob Ramage has now been charged with impaired driving causing death, after ex-Chicago Blackhawk star Keith Magnuson was killed in a car crash Monday afternoon.
The three car pile-up occurred on a dangerous stretch of road at Rutherford and Pine Valley Drive during the afternoon rush. The same crash also sent Ramage to hospital, apparently with a broken leg.
He was driving the vehicle and Magnuson was his passenger - and ironically, both were returning from the funeral of former N.H.L. player and Alumni Association chair Keith McCreary in Bolton. He succumbed to cancer last week.
It's still not clear how the accident happened. "We're still finalizing in terms of reconstructing the actual accident," explains York Police P.C. Steve Morrell. "We're still taking statements from witnesses at the scene. We're looking into where these persons were before the accident, and there's still very much an investigation going on."
The tragedy seems to have started after Ramage’s rented Chrysler Intrepid, heading eastward, somehow veered into the westbound lane, colliding with an S.U.V., then hitting another car.
A woman in the sport utility vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the occupants of the compact weren't hurt.
But the 56-year-old Magnuson died at the scene. His body remained in the car for over five hours, while police attempted a reconstruction.
The former Blackhawk star skated in 589 games over 11 seasons, netting 14 goals, 125 assists and 1,442 penalty minutes. He's regarded as one of Chicago's all time greats.
Ramage captained the Leafs from 1989 to 1991, in a career that began ten years earlier. The 44-year-old managed 139 goals and 425 assists in 1,044 N.H.L. games. He also served stints with the Avalanche, the Blues, the Flames, the North Stars, the Lightning, the Habs, and the Flyers.
The three car pile-up occurred on a dangerous stretch of road at Rutherford and Pine Valley Drive during the afternoon rush. The same crash also sent Ramage to hospital, apparently with a broken leg.
He was driving the vehicle and Magnuson was his passenger - and ironically, both were returning from the funeral of former N.H.L. player and Alumni Association chair Keith McCreary in Bolton. He succumbed to cancer last week.
It's still not clear how the accident happened. "We're still finalizing in terms of reconstructing the actual accident," explains York Police P.C. Steve Morrell. "We're still taking statements from witnesses at the scene. We're looking into where these persons were before the accident, and there's still very much an investigation going on."
The tragedy seems to have started after Ramage’s rented Chrysler Intrepid, heading eastward, somehow veered into the westbound lane, colliding with an S.U.V., then hitting another car.
A woman in the sport utility vehicle was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the occupants of the compact weren't hurt.
But the 56-year-old Magnuson died at the scene. His body remained in the car for over five hours, while police attempted a reconstruction.
The former Blackhawk star skated in 589 games over 11 seasons, netting 14 goals, 125 assists and 1,442 penalty minutes. He's regarded as one of Chicago's all time greats.
Ramage captained the Leafs from 1989 to 1991, in a career that began ten years earlier. The 44-year-old managed 139 goals and 425 assists in 1,044 N.H.L. games. He also served stints with the Avalanche, the Blues, the Flames, the North Stars, the Lightning, the Habs, and the Flyers.
