Mission dad killed in crash, wife and four children taken to hospital

DEROCHE, B.C. – A tragic three-vehicle crash killed a 48-year-old motorist from Mission and sent his wife and four children aged five to 14 to hospital for treatment of injuries.

The accident occurred near near 39645 Lougheed Highway in Deroche at about 12.25 p.m. on Tuesday.

RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said a 2007 Nissan driven by a 27-year-old Abbotsford woman stopped in the single eastbound lane with the intention of crossing over a double solid line to turn into the driveway of a private home. The vehicle was waiting for a west-bound traffic to pass before making the turn.

At the same time, a 42-year-old motorist from Abbotsford, driving a 1996 Ford Explorer came upon the stopped vehicle and in a bid to avoid hitting it, he steered the vehicle into the westbound lanes.

“While in the oncoming westbound lane, the Ford was involved in a head-on collision with vehicle #3, a 2001 Chevrolet mini-van which had been operated by a 48 year old male from Mission,” said Thiessen.

The driver of the stopped vehicle was not injured in the crash, he said.

The driver of the Ford Explorer was injured in the crash and taken to hospital.

Thiessen said the 48-year-old father in the third vehicle was killed instantly while his 42-year-old wife and four children were rushed to hospital for treatment of their injuries.

Police have not released the names of the victims.

“At this point in the investigation, it would appear that the causal factors for this crash include the stopping of vehicle #1 on the traveled portion of the roadway and the potential inattention of the driver of vehicle #2 as it approached the rear of vehicle #1. Weather, road, visibility and vehicle mechanics did not appear to play a part in this crash,” he said.

The Lower Mainland District Fraser Valley Traffic Services and Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service and the Office of the Provincial Coroner are continuing their investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed this collision and has not spoken to the police are asked to contact the lead investigator, Const. Michael Paired at the Fraser Valley Traffic Services Office at 604-702-4039.

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4. Two Mission residents die in single vehicle crash
5. Nine sent to hospital after fiery crash in Calgary

Posted by News Editor on Dec 29 2010. Filed under Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry