Castanet

"Two people are dead and two others are in critical condition at Kelowna General Hospital after the truck they were driving in lost control and rolled over numerous times on Princeton Avenue in Peachland Thursday night.

The two other passengers suffered serious injuries in the roll-over.

A 19-year-old man from Peachland is reported to be in serious condition while a 16-year-old West Kelowna girl is reported to be critical.

Friends and classmates have begun an impromptu memorial at the scene of the crash and tributes to the pair have been pouring in on Facebook since news of the tragedy broke.

S.V. writes: "Woke up this morning to one of the worst texts I have ever received. You are so loved and greatly missed."

K.M. says: "I honestly hope you guys rest in paradise. My prayers are with you guys."

From A.R.: "Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understandings with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our heart and we are never the same."

From S.C.: "Best friends since we were all babies. I can't believe this, my heart is breaking."

A.B. writes: "I love you both...your both in a much better place. RIP"

Emergency crews were called out at 10:53 p.m.

RCMP Sgt. Brian Nightingale says the 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck was travelling west on Princeton Avenue at the time of the crash.

He says speed relative to conditions may have been a factor.

"It is a gravel road and you have a lot of washboarding. When you are coming off a curve you have a lateral acceleration you need to be able to deal with. He wasn't able to do that and he started to rotate," says Nightingale.

Cst. Kris Clark reports that investigators have now learned that no one was wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash and that two of them were thrown from the vehicle.

In a strange twist of fate Mike Baxter was close friends with West Kelowna teen Ashley Hyatt, who was stabbed to death following a house party in Peachland in June 2010.

Baxter also remained close to the Hyatt family after her tragic death. "


What a terrible tragedy and my condolences to the families involved.

I live just up Princeton and was just getting ready for bed last night when I heard tons of sirens going up the road, then woke up to my entire Facebook blowing up about it.

I've been acquainted at one point or another with all four, definitely a weird feeling to see their names in the news today.

RIP Mike & Delanie

Wishing the other two a speedy recovery.

None of the victims of this crash were wearing seat belts, but from the condition of the cab, I'm not sure it made a difference.

I hate to speculate in this way, but from the condition of the cab of that truck, could the two thrown from the vehicle be the ones who survived?

So much suffering and loss for the young people of Peachland and West Kelowna in the last few years. Thinking of you all.

Its shamefull the condition they allow that road to get. The washboard feels like its going to rip you vehicle appart. I could see losing control on it . Almost have myself. Nevermind an over jacked pickup .

more teenagers leaving us way too soon.
My heart and thoughts go out to the families.

Very sad, my condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and wishes for a speedy recovery to the survivors.

The danger of modified suspensions/lift kits cannot be overstated. The center of gravity of that truck was so high that a rollover was almost inevitable.

JayByrd wrote:I hate to speculate in this way, but from the condition of the cab of that truck, could the two thrown from the vehicle be the ones who survived?

Three were ejected from the vehicle. A fourth was partially ejected and ended up pinned underneath.

What a horrible thing to have happen. That road is in bad shape and is getting worse every year. I went up last summer with my dad and it is indeed washboardy. At the same time though, the truck having such a high center of gravity probably caused it to flip faster than a vehicle without jacked suspension would. My condolences go out to the family and friends of these people.

The road and the truck are not to blame. Tired of hearing these excuses. The bottom line is, we have an inexperienced driver operating beyond his own limits and he paid a terrible price.
Driver error killed these people. This needs to be recognized so that people can learn from it. Stop blaming everything but the person in control.

That's not very nice, and you don't know that for sure.

shelly01 wrote:That's not very nice, and you don't know that for sure.

Agreed. Quick to blame is a fool's game.

Alcohol is a hell of a drug.

Teaps wrote:Alcohol is a hell of a drug.

What's the point of writing that?

Teaps wrote:Alcohol is a hell of a drug.

Just so you know, Mr. QK and I take a lot of photographs all over BC and Peachland is included. We were up there not too long ago and guess what bucko, beer cans were everywhere, on the side of the road, in ditches, heck, on the road.

So do not, under any circumstances, take beer cans near an overturned vehicle and attribute them to the driver of the car, AUTOMATICALLY.

It isn't necessarily a match. God knows I've picked up enough empties and taken them to the Return-it that weren't mine, I definitely know better than to jump to conclusions.

The cans could have been laying on the road already. They could have fallen out of the box of the pickup, consumed on a different day. Hell, are they even beer cans, or are they pop cans? I can't tell.