A one-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister, the youngest members of a Nelson family that was headed out on a summer camping trip, were among the 19 people killed on B.C. roads within a single week.
The adventurous family of four, including father Kyohei Mitazaki, mother Rena, and children Asahi and Jin, died last week when their vehicle was involved in a crash with a logging truck near Nakusp in the West Kootenay.
Another family of three, including a baby, was killed Tuesday in a head-on crash with a semi truck near Agassiz. And a family of four extended family members was killed Wednesday in a crash involving another semi truck near Keremeos.
The B.C. Coroners Service is warning drivers to be cautious in the aftermath of the tragic week, during which several motorcyclists were also killed. The start of summer usually marks the beginning of the deadliest season on B.C. roads, with about one-third of all vehicle fatalities happening in July, August and September.
The Mitazaki family moved to Canada from Japan several years ago. Kyohei was a baker and “master of his craft” at the Kootenay Bakery Cafe Co-op in Nelson, according to a Facebook post.
The family was headed out on a camping trip, a favourite summer pastime, when they were killed Friday evening a week ago.
The bakery has organized a GoFundMe page so the couple’s family can travel to Nelson to mourn.
Slocan RCMP said the family was killed when their passenger truck crossed the centre line on Highway 6 while a semi truck carrying a 45-tonne load of timber was approaching in the oncoming lane. The driver of the semi swerved, but his trailer hit the ditch, causing it to flip and scatter logs across the highway. Part of the load hit the family’s truck, killing all four occupants.
Witnesses rescued the semi driver before his truck was destroyed by fire.
According to the coroner’s service, 331 people were killed in vehicle crashes in B.C. last year, with one-third happening in the summer months.
Data collected by ICBC over the past five years shows the same trend, as the number of fatalities remained steady between 2018 and 2022, apart from a slight dip during the pandemic. Three hundred and two people died in crashes in 2022 — three more than in 2018. August was the most deadly month, with speed and driver distraction among the top contributing factors.
The ICBC data also shows that heavy vehicles were involved in 85 of the 302 fatalities in 2022. Over the past five years, deaths involving a heavy vehicle were highest in July and February, and lowest in spring.
Deaths involving motorcycles also peaked in the summer months, with 44 of the 302 fatalities in 2022 involving a motorcycle. There were very few crashes in the winter.
This past Thursday afternoon, two people died in a crash involving two motorcycles and a truck near Boston Bar. On Wednesday night, a 70-year-old motorcyclist from Langley was killed after he lost control of his bike and struck a median on Golden Ears Way in Pitt Meadows. And on July 4, 27-year-old Anthony McGwynne, from Sligo, Ireland, died after his motorcycle collided with a car on Arbutus Street in Vancouver.
The crashes — at least seven in the span of a week — have devastated families across the province, with some losing multiple family members in an instant.
“We know there are far-reaching impacts, as family and friends across the province, and beyond, mourn the loss of their loved ones,” said John McNamee, B.C.’s acting chief coroner.
On Wednesday, Sukhwant Singh Brar, his wife Rajinder Kaur, daughter Kamal Kaur and his wife’s sister, Shinder Kaur, who was visiting from India, were killed in a crash involving two cars and a semi truck near Keremeos.
Gurpreet Singh Sahota, a journalist with Charhdi Kala News Group in Surrey, said the family was on their way to Kelowna to visit family.
The crash happened a day after a family of three from Deroche, including a baby, was killed on the Lougheed Highway near Agassiz. The parents died in the head-on crash with a semi truck. The baby was airlifted to hospital, but died later, after what police described as “the heroic efforts of first responders and hospital staff.”
In another tragic crash Tuesday north of Invermere, three passengers died when their car drove off an embankment. The driver, who may have been speeding and impaired, according to police, was seriously injured.
