Crashes, fires and crime made headlines countless times in Chilliwack in 2024.
Two major crashes on Highway 1 stood out from others, including a fatal six-vehicle crash on Aug. 6 that claimed the lives of Layna Brown and her son Dominic of Maple Ridge. The collision happened at the east end of the Vedder Canal Bridge and police later stated they believe it was due to an obstruction on the road. The eastbound lane of the highway was closed for 12 hours as a result.
Another crash closed both lanes of Highway 1 for nine hours on Nov. 8 at the east end of Chilliwack in an area known as the S-curves. Early that morning, a semi and trailer tipped over and landed across all four lanes of the highway. A 28-year-old man from Alberta was later charged for driving "without due care and attention" under the Motor Vehicle Act, with a fine of $368 and six points against the driver’s licence.
Two women were killed in two separate homicides this year. On Jan. 17, a 66-year-old woman died at a Teton Avenue house on Fairfield Island. A 68-year-old man was arrested for her murder. And on June 2, a 50-year old woman was killed in an apartment on Chehalis Drive.
The remains of a Chilliwack woman were identified nearly 20 years after she went missing. On Aug. 23, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said they were finally able to identify Tammy Eileen Penner whose body was discovered at a rest stop in Rockwood, Ontario in 2005. Penner, 41, was last seen in January 2005 and was living in Chilliwack and Abbotsford before she disappeared. OPP said they used investigative genetic genealogy to determine her identity. They believe the circumstances surrounding her death are suspicious and that foul play was involved, although the cause of death was never determined.
A seven-month drug-trafficking investigation in Chilliwack, Langley, Surrey, and Vancouver netted $5 million in illicit drugs in what Chilliwack RCMP called a “significant milestone” in their efforts to combat the illegal drug trade. Police made the announcement on April 17 at the Chilliwack RCMP detachment where four vehicles, four handguns, three long guns, more than $500,000 in Canadian currency, a cocaine press, more than eight kilograms of cocaine, 14 kilograms of fentanyl and 27 kilograms of methamphetamine were on display.
There were several significant fires through Chilliwack in 2024, one of which was a fatal. The Chilliwack Fire Department was called out to a house on Sherlaw Road in Ryder Lake that was fully-engulfed in flames on Nov. 13. Gilles Charbonneau suffered burns to 87 per cent of his body and died in hospital three days later.
