Two males confirmed dead after vehicle pulled from Moncton creek

Firefighters pulled the bodies of two men from a vehicle in a Moncton creek following a crash on Tuesday.

Moncton Fire Department Platoon Chief Brian McDonald said they received a call of a vehicle in Hall’s Creek – a tributary of the Petitcodiac River – around 9:20 a.m.

McDonald said when they arrived at the scene, it wasn’t clear if anyone was inside.

“The car was mostly submerged underwater in the middle of the creek and it was relatively low-tide at the time,” said McDonald. 

Firefighters had a difficult time gaining access to the vehicle while trying to determine if there was anyone inside.

McDonald said water and technical rescue teams were deployed to try to reach the vehicle in the creek.

“There was lots of water moving. The current was strong at the time. There was always a danger of us being swept away by the water. Once we made the assessment, there was indeed two people in the vehicle,” said McDonald. 

Crews removed a submerged vehicle in Hall's Creek in Moncton, N.B., on Dec. 31, 2024. (Source: Facebook/Codiac Response)

By that time, more than 30 minutes had passed since firefighters first arrived at the overpass where Church Street and Donald Avenue meet.

“The operations changed from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” he said. “Unfortunately, there were two deceased males in the vehicle.”

The car was pulled to the shore after 10 a.m. to minimize the risks of recovering the bodies. 

The RCMP later confirmed the victims were a 33-year-old man and 24-year-old man.

Crews recovered a vehicle that crashed into Hall's Creek in Moncton, N.B., on Dec. 31, 2024. (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)

Some of the people who live nearby said they didn’t notice anything until they heard sirens.

Eugene Thibodeau said he was eating his breakfast when he heard the commotion.

“I looked out the window and there's fire trucks and other vehicles arriving, but I never heard anything. Usually I hear the train go by, but never heard a bang or nothing,” said Thibodeau.

McDonald said rescue operations involving a submerged vehicle in the Petitcodiac River rarely occur.

“The rarity of it makes it a challenging incident for us. It’s very rare for us to have to mobilize two of our speciality teams, our water rescue team as well as our technical rescue team,” said McDonald.

Crews responded to a vehicle crash in Hall's Creek in Moncton, N.B., on Dec. 31, 2024. (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic)

McDonald said it’s not known when the crash occurred or exactly what happened, but he said it appeared the car was heading north on Church Street at the time of the crash.

McDonald said a drone was deployed by the RCMP to search the shoreline in case there was another victim who could have been ejected from the vehicle. 

Police are asking anyone who was travelling in the area, or who lives in the area and may have security camera, dash or doorbell camera footage between 6 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Tuesday, to contact the Codiac Regional RCMP at 506-857-2400.

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