There, But For Fate...
Two accidents occurring roughly two days apart, in two different parts of the country; one in British Columbia, the other in Ontario. Two vehicles, each holding four people, out of control and plunging into deep water. One incident demonstrating that there are heroes, people whose instinct it is to go to extraordinary lengths to help others. The other that injudicious decisions sometimes lead to disaster.
In the first event, two young men from Kelowna reacted on impulse and in a spirit of personal responsibility to save four people from Calgary as they witnessed their minivan losing control and plunging into an glacier-fed lake. Tyler Lockerby and Matthew Jackson on their way to work in Revelstoke responded in the wake of the accident to dive into the water and save a father, mother and two daughters.
This occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway. There were witnesses to the accident. Witnesses that, in this instance, included two 19-year-old friends who did not hesitate to discommode themselves to rescue strangers in distress.
The rescued family were understandably horribly upset, injured and in shock. Other motorists lent a hand to cover them with blankets and offer them water. Once the ambulance arrived and the rescued taken to hospital, the boys left for work. The two young men are casual about their part in the rescue; it had to be done and they happened to be there. Their response was automatic and critical.
Not so fortunate was another family of four. Three sisters, aged 13, 17 and 19, along with their 50-year-old aunt. Their car became submerged at the Kingston Mills Locks a day later.
They and their parents, and their aunt had been visiting family in Ontario, from their home in Quebec, and were on their way back home to Quebec, having stopped over at a motel for the night. It has been revealed that the 19-year-old had wanted to practise driving. She had no license, but wanted to drive. She said nothing of this to her parents, telling them she needed the car keys to retrieve some clothing.
They were travelling in two vehicles. When the parents awoke next morning they discovered their three daughters and the mother's sister nowhere to be found, and assumed they had decided to drive on ahead, to Montreal. They soon discovered otherwise. It seems fairly clear that they made some unwise choices.
On the discovery of the submerged vehicle it wasn't initially known there were people in the car. The person who volunteered to gear up to dive to the depths they were in, discovered the four bodies in the submerged vehicle, the 19-year-old still in the driver's seat. He assumed she had attempted to back up when it became clear the short stretch of road led nowhere, not knowing how close the water's edge was.
A Parks Canada employee had spotted the vehicle underwater. And it is believed by the investigating police that the car was underwater with its passengers for between seven and eight hours. At that time of the evening, at that location, certainly not a busy public thoroughfare, there was no one present to witness the catastrophe, no one to undertake a rescue.
Four people whose lives became forfeit to a whim.
In the first event, two young men from Kelowna reacted on impulse and in a spirit of personal responsibility to save four people from Calgary as they witnessed their minivan losing control and plunging into an glacier-fed lake. Tyler Lockerby and Matthew Jackson on their way to work in Revelstoke responded in the wake of the accident to dive into the water and save a father, mother and two daughters.
This occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway. There were witnesses to the accident. Witnesses that, in this instance, included two 19-year-old friends who did not hesitate to discommode themselves to rescue strangers in distress.
The rescued family were understandably horribly upset, injured and in shock. Other motorists lent a hand to cover them with blankets and offer them water. Once the ambulance arrived and the rescued taken to hospital, the boys left for work. The two young men are casual about their part in the rescue; it had to be done and they happened to be there. Their response was automatic and critical.
Not so fortunate was another family of four. Three sisters, aged 13, 17 and 19, along with their 50-year-old aunt. Their car became submerged at the Kingston Mills Locks a day later.
They and their parents, and their aunt had been visiting family in Ontario, from their home in Quebec, and were on their way back home to Quebec, having stopped over at a motel for the night. It has been revealed that the 19-year-old had wanted to practise driving. She had no license, but wanted to drive. She said nothing of this to her parents, telling them she needed the car keys to retrieve some clothing.
They were travelling in two vehicles. When the parents awoke next morning they discovered their three daughters and the mother's sister nowhere to be found, and assumed they had decided to drive on ahead, to Montreal. They soon discovered otherwise. It seems fairly clear that they made some unwise choices.
On the discovery of the submerged vehicle it wasn't initially known there were people in the car. The person who volunteered to gear up to dive to the depths they were in, discovered the four bodies in the submerged vehicle, the 19-year-old still in the driver's seat. He assumed she had attempted to back up when it became clear the short stretch of road led nowhere, not knowing how close the water's edge was.
A Parks Canada employee had spotted the vehicle underwater. And it is believed by the investigating police that the car was underwater with its passengers for between seven and eight hours. At that time of the evening, at that location, certainly not a busy public thoroughfare, there was no one present to witness the catastrophe, no one to undertake a rescue.
Four people whose lives became forfeit to a whim.
Labels: Canada, Heros and Villains, Life's Like That
posted by Pieface | 6:24 PM
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