A 19-year-old man from Trenton, N.S., has been charged with criminal negligence causing death following a crash last weekend on Highway 104 that killed two women.

The man's car was not involved in the crash, but RCMP said Wednesday he had been driving with a mattress on the roof that flew off, landed in the roadway and caused a transport truck to lose control.

That truck hit an oncoming vehicle, killing a 51-year-old woman and 74-year-old woman, both from Antigonish, N.S. They died at the scene.

The crash happened around 7:35 p.m. Saturday near Barneys River Station on one the deadliest stretches of highway in Nova Scotia.

The accused was arrested on Sunday. He was released after appearing in Pictou provincial court and is due back on Nov. 12.

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