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An American man facing charges after a crash in Saskatchewan that killed a mother and her two daughters was released Thursday on $20,000 bail and will return to the United States, his lawyer told CBC News in a statement.
The Oct. 2 crash happened near Foam Lake, about 200 kilometres northeast of Regina.
Kelly Knopf, 40, has a broken pelvis and will return to South Carolina to seek medical treatment, according to Brian Pfefferle, his Saskatoon-based lawyer.
“He will return. We have no doubt about it,” Pfefferle told CBC News in an interview. He said his client came to Canada on a hunting trip.
Knopf is charged with multiple counts of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
Amber Olson, 40, and her daughters Isla and Everly , ages five and eight, died in the collision. Shaun Didychuk, the girls’ father, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Pfefferle said Knopf was able to leave Canada largely because he has a history of being law-abiding.
“When someone’s from another country and they’re alleged to have committed a criminal offence it’s often difficult to get them released for the reasons that might come front to mind,” he said.
Knopf had been “shackled” in the hospital since the incident and he has children of a similar age to the two who died in the collision, Pfefferle said.
American hunter charged in Foam Lake crash that killed 3
The community of Foam Lake is grieving after a collision claimed the lives of a woman and two children. Forty-year-old Kelly Knopf from Sumter, South Carolina was arrested and charged with three counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.
Strangers and locals who already knew Knopf have reached out to offer their support, he added.
“They’re prepared to help him and it’s a tragedy and they just want to be there for everybody that’s affected.”
Knopf’s next appearance is in Wadena on Jan. 21, 2027.