Carleton students were at campus bar before deadly Ottawa crash

Five Carleton University students sang karaoke together at a campus bar on the night of a fatal collision that killed three of them and injured the other two, friends said.

Vanessa Crawford and Brianne Deschamps,both 19,and Mark MacDonald, 20, died after the SUV they were in was hit by an OC Transpo bus at Heron Road and Riverside Drive in Ottawa early Wednesday.

Ben Gardiner, 20, who was also in the SUV, remained in critical but stablecondition in hospital Thursdayafter suffering a broken neck vertebra anda shattered leg, his family reported.Monica Neacsu, 19,was released from hospital Wednesday. Neacsu, who was from Toronto,was Deschamps's and Crawford's roommate.

Their friends told CBC News thatthe fivehad been at the popular karaoke night at the campus bar Mike's Place on the night of the crash.

In fact, late Tuesday, Crawford updated her profile on the social networking site Facebook and wrote, "Vanessa Crawford is singin' don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gunna be alright," lyrics from the Bob Marley song Three Little Birds.

Sam VanMeenan, a close friend of Crawford and Deschamps, said a night at a bar was a big deal for Crawford, whohad just turned 19 in December and was thrilled to be able to drink legally.

"Vanessa was almost the youngest out of all of us because she had such a late birthday," VanMeenan said. "She was just really, really excited to finally be able to go out with everyone."

Best friends

VanMeenan said Crawford and Deschamps were her two best friends. The three went to high school together in Lambton County, near Sarnia in southwestern Ontario.

She said she decided to enrol in Algonquin College in Ottawa mainly because Crawford had started the year before at Carleton University. Deschamps, Crawford's roommate, chose to go to Carleton for a similar reason.

VanMeenan noted it's a long drive between Ottawa and their hometown.

"It's not like we're going to go eight hours for no reason," she said.

Enjoyed skydiving

Friends said Vanessa was a carefree spirit who had gone skydiving for the first time in November and spoke constantly of doing it again.

Those who knew MacDonald said he was also a fun-loving young man.

His former swimming coach in Arnprior, Ont., Dave Heinbuch, described him as exuberant.

"He loved life," Heinbuch said. "He was a great guy to be around."

He added that MacDonald was a talented athlete.

"His goal was always to make nationals, and I just remember the joy that we both had when he made national qualifying times for the first time."

A private event was to be held at Carleton University on Thursday to remember the students who died in the crash, and counsellors were to be on hand to help students deal with their grief. A memorial is to be held later.

Weather, road layout not factors: police

Police continued their investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, but police said results of toxicology tests to determine whether alcohol was involved aren't expected for four to six weeks.

Police said they are checking logs of red-light cameras for the possibility that the collision was caused by a driver of the SUV running a red light. The driver of the bus told police he had a green light.

City statistics show the intersection of Riverside Drive and Heron Road where the collision took place was the site of 39 collisions in 2006, more than any other in Ottawa.

But Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Rick Lavigne said that's mainly because of the high volume of traffic, which wouldn't have been a factor at the time of the crash, near 2 a.m. ET.

"In my opinion, the geometry of the intersection was not a contributing factor in that collision," said Lavigne, who is with the public safety section.

He added that road conditions were good and the weather was clear at the time of the crash.

Maria McRae, city councillor for the wardwith the intersection, said the cityplans to modify the roadway in an effort to make it safer following public consultations in the spring.

Some possibilities for improving it include more signage, lowering the speed limit or raising the intersection itself.

However, Lavigne told CBC's Ottawa Morning on Thursday that 80 per cent of collisions are caused by factors involving the driver, such as speeding, running red lights, or being careless or distracted.