On Dec. 30, Barriere mayor Ward Stamer was about to leave a gas station along Highway 5 — which has been the subject of a continuous safety controversy during the past year — when he heard a screeching and grinding noise coming from a vehicle headed south towards Kamloops.
He was headed in the same direction as the Dodge truck, which was pulling a trailer with a snowmobile on it, and he noticed that the trailer was missing the back right tire, and running on a rim only.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing that loaded trailer with no tire on the back wheel and the guy just continued driving as though nothing was wrong. I kept expecting him to pull over and thought he was trying to find a good spot to pull off, but that never happened,” Stamer told ronaldomanosa.
“I am so frustrated and angry. It’s unimaginable to think that someone would just carry on. He had to know. There is no way that driver didn’t know he was missing a tire. When he did pull over it was only to allow the line of traffic behind him to pass and still continued on, pulling back out onto the highway as soon as the vehicles behind him drove by. Unreal. Of course when I realized he was not stopping I called 9-1-1 immediately and was told it would be a Kamloops file since he was headed that way.”
Stamer added that since he was going in the same direction, he passed the vehicle safely when he could and ended up at Rona hardware just outside Kamloops. He noted that the vehicle was still travelling behind him, and says he didn’t pass any type of enforcement vehicle such as CVSE, B.C. Highway patrol or regular RCMP before arriving at his destination at Mount Paul Industrial Park.
“I realize it’s another holiday weekend, staffing is an issue, but we have only seen one lone CVSE [vehicle] on the road in recent days following the triple fatal on Dec. 28. What will it take for the government to hear us when we say we need increased enforcement? This is just another example of unsafe driving. Our RCMP need help, we need committed action, not empty promises,” he said.
The mayor was referring to the most recent fatal crash on Highway 5, which closed the highway in both directions for hours and left three people dead; a fourth person was transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash happened in the early morning hours, just beyond the passing lanes near the Oliver Creek Forest Service Road. It is having a profound impact on residents in the North Thompson, according to the mayor.
“Can you imagine if this guy [with the missing tire] caused another crash driving unsafely like that? I motioned to him when I went by to get off the road and he ignored me. I’m so frustrated. The government needs to act now. We need increased enforcement now, not next week, before someone else loses their lives or another loved one.”
Stamer stated that regardless of whether or not this last fatality involved a commercial vehicle or a passenger vehicle, “lives continue to be impacted up and down this critical corridor.” He stressed that it is the consensus of all local elected officials that the provincial government prioritize safety along this major route.
A meeting in Clearwater on Dec. 22, hosted by Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar, involved input from Simpcw First Nation’s Kúkpi7 George Lampreau and staff, mayors and councillors from Barriere, Clearwater and Valemount, and Thompson-Nicola Regional District directors from Blue River, Clearwater, Barriere and Sun Peaks. They gathered to discuss viable solutions to the ongoing highway crisis and brainstorm with first responders, School District 73 and local tow company operators.
“Our residents are our priority in the valley and they are demanding action from the province,” said Stamer. “We are concerned about our first responders and volunteers that attend these devastating crashes and the trauma they experience. How much more can they deal with?”
