Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer was about to leave a local gas station along Highway 5 on Saturday (Dec. 30) when he heard a screeching and grinding noise coming from the highway that has been the subject of continuous safety controversy during the past year.
He was headed in the same direction as the dodge truck pulling a trailer with a snowmobile on it headed south towards Kamloops when he noted the trailer was missing a tire.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing that loaded trailer with no tire on the back wheel and the guy just continued driving as though nothing was wrong. I kept expecting him to pull over and thought he was trying to find a good spot to pull off, but that never happened,” Stamer told Black Press Media.
Stamer’s voice rose as he continued to describe the scene saying, “I am so frustrated and angry. It’s unimaginable to think that someone would just carry on, he had to know. There is no way that driver didn’t know he was missing a tire. When he did pull over it was only to allow the line of traffic behind him to pass and still continued on, pulling back out onto the highway as soon as the vehicles behind him drove by. Unreal. Of course when I realized he was not stopping I called 911 immediately and was told it would be a Kamloops file since he was headed that way.”
Stamer added since he was going in the same direction, passing the vehicle safely when he could and ending up at Rona hardware just outside of Kamloops he noted the vehicle was still travelling behind him and didn’t pass any type of enforcement vehicle such as CVSE, B.C. Highway patrol or regular RCMP before arriving at his destination at Mount Paul Industrial park.
“I realize it’s another holiday weekend, staffing is an issue, but we have only seen one lone CVSE on the road in recent days following the last triple fatal on Dec. 28. What will it take for the government to hear us when we say we need increased enforcement? This is just another example of unsafe driving. Our RCMP need help, we need committed action not empty promises,” he said.
The mayor was referring to the most recent fatal crash that occurred only a few days prior that closed the highway in both directions for hours, resulting in three dead and the driver of the Ford Transit cargo van being transported to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops with non life threatening injuries.
READ ALSO: 4 dead following multiple Highway 5 crashes near Barriere
The crash happened in the early morning hours just past the passing lanes near the Oliver Creek Forest Service Road on Highway 5. It is having a profound impact on residents in the North Thompson, according to the mayor.
“Can you imagine if this guy caused another crash driving unsafely like that? I motioned to him when I went by to get off the road and he ignored me. I’m so frustrated. The government needs to act now. We need increased enforcement now, not next week, before someone else loses their lives or another loved one.”
Stamer stated that regardless of whether or not this last fatality involved a commercial vehicle or a passenger vehicle, “lives continue to be impacted up and down this critical corridor” and he stressed it’s the consensus of all elected local officials that the provincial government prioritize safety along this major route.
During a recent meeting in Clearwater on Dec. 22 hosted by MLA for Kamloops-Thompson, Peter Milobar, involving input from Simpcw First Nation’s Kúkpi7 George Lampreau and staff, mayors and district councillors from Barriere, Clearwater and Valemount, Thompson Nicola Regional Directors from Blue River, Clearwater, Barriere and Sun Peaks who gathered to discuss viable solutions to the ongoing highway crisis and brainstorm with first responders, School District 73 and local tow company operators.
“Our residents are our priority in the valley and they are demanding action from the province. We are concerned about our first responders and volunteers that attend these devastating crashes and the trauma they experience. How much more can they deal with?”