In the past year along Highway 5 from Kamloops north to the Alberta border we have seen far too many accidents and many of them fatal in every season, all types of weather conditions and often where we would think are the least likely places for an extreme crash to occur.
The most recent fatal collision happened on Sept. 2, just south of Barriere not long after the opening day parade for the North Thompson Fall Fair had finished it’s route with First Responders in the area waving happily at families on either side of the road, throwing out candy for the kids to collect, spraying light showers of water from a fire tender to the delight of the grown-ups and kids alike on a warm day.
A feeling of excitement was in the air during the parade and sounds of laughter, cheering, applause and visiting blended in with the sirens, horns and flashing lights, turned on for fun, instead of urgency for a change.
As I made my way back to the Barriere Star/Journal office to edit some photos I was feeling lighthearted as well, thinking about how nice it was so have so many happy photos to review, looking forward to heading to the fairgrounds. I hadn’t been at my desk long when I heard the first siren, it sounded different than those used during the parade somehow. Then another quickly followed and even more. My first thought was ‘this isn’t good’ and I stepped to the doorway to watch multiple emergency vehicles heading south, lights and sirens blaring.
I went to my van to go over to the opening ceremonies at the fairgrounds and noticed more traffic northbound, realizing they were being turned back. Not good, I thought again.
After spending quite a few hours at the fairgrounds, went back to the office to pack up. Not far south out of Barriere the traffic was lined up and the northbound lane was empty, leading me to surmise both lanes were still closed. Not good, I thought again. Many had been there unable to turn back for hours. About 45 minutes after arriving in the line-up we slowly began to move on both sides and coming around a corner the line of northbound traffic wound around the mountainside next to the sheer rock with the steep river canyon next to the southbound lane.
A few miles ahead a tow truck passed with a vehicle loaded on the back covered by a tarp, another marked sign of a fatality. I felt such sadness, someone’s family would soon be told.
A few miles ahead and the other vehicle, loaded onto a tow truck sat waiting to leave the scene with an RCMP parked nearby. I have two first responder sons and often feel such sadness for what they see. They’ve been doing their jobs for over 20 years each. It never gets easier.
As the traffic began to pick up speed, well past the scene, many ahead of me, going north had been waiting much longer than I was. I get feeling impatient, but I don’t get being ignorant. I shook my head as though that gesture mattered to the idiot who had just viewed what I had, a tarped vehicle completely crushed in on one side deep into the other side like a folded piece of tinfoil. Yes, you guessed it, 4x4 picked up, young driver, booted it on a double solid with little space before the oncoming semi reached him as he ducked back in front of another commercial vehicle. Why am I surprised I asked myself.
Within the first half hour on my way to Kamloops after a double fatal on the highway we were all sharing, the ‘I own the road gang’ wasted no time in putting others at risk as they wove in an out of all types of vehicles, supposedly to make up for lost time. Many of us ended up at the Halston lights around the same time.
Answers? Solutions? Chief Lampreau of Simpcw First Nation, Mayor Stamer from Barriere, Mayor Blackwell of Clearwater, Mayor Torgerson of Valemount as well as our TNRD Directors are on their way to the Union of B.C. Municipalities September 18 – 22 in hopes of speaking directly with Ministers one on one to negotiate and advocate for change, safety improvements, improved infrastructure. They will be asking for commitments, such as adding more passing lanes, mandatory dash cameras, increased enforcement, upgraded detour routes, faster action on wildfires and giving input on mandatory mountain endorsements for commercial drivers. Interestingly, their formal requests for many of the meetings with ministers have been declined this year for some reason. At press time while filing this editorial I received confirmation that the Minister of Transportation and Highways, Rob Fleming will be meeting with Simpcw First Nation Chief Lampreau and mayors Stamer and Blackwell during UBCM. Some good news I hope. To all of you attending UBCM on our behalf, we appreciate all your hard work. I know you all take your commitments to everyone in the valley along this corridor seriously. You aren’t just asking for funding, or frivolous community enhancements, you are fighting for our lives in a place we call home. Thank you. Safe travels.
