Windsor

Man charged in crash deaths of 2 women who pulled over to save a turtle

Police said they had pulled their car over and exited the vehicle in order to help a turtle cross the street, something a close family member told CBC at the time came as no surprise. 

The two women had pulled their car over to help a turtle in the roadway

Two senior-age women embrace.
Teresa Suliga (left) and her sister Elizabeth Seremak (right) in a family photo. The sisters were killed when they were hit by a car on Charing Cross Road in Chatham-Kent after getting out of their vehicle to help a turtle. (Dorothy Suliga)

A man has now been charged in the deaths of two women hit by a car after they stopped to assist a turtle cross the road last spring. 

The women, sisters in their 60s, were killed when they were struck by a car on May 18 on Charing Cross Road. 

Police now say that a a 24-year-old man from Raleigh Township has been charged with two counts of careless driving causing death. He will appear in court on Dec. 17.

"The Chatham-Kent Police extend their heartfelt condolences to the families affected by this tragedy during this difficult time," police said in a statement. 

Police said they had pulled their car over and exited the vehicle in order to help a turtle cross the street, something a close family member told CBC at the time came as no surprise. 

"They always saved everything. From a little bird to a tree... It was always their nature to help any living thing," Dorothy Suliga said of her mother Teresa and aunt Elizabeth Seremak in an interview in May.

With files from Dalson Chen