One man is dead and six members of a Chilliwack family are injured and rattled after a serious vehicle collision on Prest Road on Sunday.
Greg McLaren was driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck south on Prest Road after 6 p.m. on Sept. 20, according to his partner Cara McNamara. On board were five of the family’s children and step-children, including 13-year-old twins, a 12-year-old and two 10-year-olds.
A white Chevy driving east on McGuire Road blew through the stop sign and T-boned McLaren and his kids. The family’s Dodge rolled “a couple of times,” according to one witness before coming to rest on its wheels.
The Chevy was driven by a 34-year-old male from Chilliwack who had a 26-year-old female passenger with him. Their vehicle came to rest in a nearby corn field.
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An Air Ambulance was dispatched to the scene, but man died at the scene. The female was airlifted to Vancouver General hospital with a broken neck, back and numerous broken ribs arm and elbow. As of Monday she was awaiting surgeries, according to her mother.
Chilliwack RCMP reported the 26-year-old woman, also from Chilliwack, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
“It was a sad situation, kids came crawling out the window of the Dodge one by one,” witness Brent Neels said Monday.
“A couple of the kids had red necks from the seatbelts.”
McNamara said the fact that the truck flipped was a good thing and helped minimize the injuries to the kids.
“Injuries sustained were minor, broken elbows, cuts, concussions and seatbelt burns,” she said.
McNamara said police told her that the solid truck, which also had a headache rack installed, likely helped saved her children’s lives.
Chilliwack RCMP and the BC Coroners Service supported by the Lower Mainland District-Integrated Collision and Analysis Reconstruction Service (LMD ICARS) continue their investigations into the collision.
“Investigators are reaching out to motorists and pedestrians who witnessed or, may have video leading up to, the crash to contact the Chilliwack RCMP,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail said.
RCMP are asking anyone who witnessed the collision to contact police at 604-792-4611 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
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