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Protest planned following deadly collision

Following baby's death, resident wants to raise awareness of importance of driving carefully through downtown intersections in Salmon Arm.
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Salmon Arm Fire Department assistant fire chief Mike Bailey talks to one of the drivers involved in a three-vehicle collision that occurred after a semi rear-ended one vehicle and pushed it into another around 2:30 p.m. at the Ross Street/Trans-Canada Highway intersection. Firefighters from Hall #3

Some residents will be taking to the streets Sunday to raise awareness of the danger of speeding through intersections on the Trans-Canada Highway.

Allison Morris is one of many citizens touched by the death of a baby that resulted from a rear-end collision on the highway on Jan. 18.

A pick-up truck and a car were stopped at the red light at the intersection of Ross Street and Highway 1. A semi-trailer loaded with lumber was following too closely, say police. It rear-ended the car, which was projected forward and hit the pick-up.

Inside the car, which was heavily damaged, was a woman and her 20-year-old daughter, who was pregnant.

Following the crash, the young woman had to undergo an emergency cesarean section. Her baby girl, 31 weeks old, died two days later.

Morris, a traffic flagger, has seen a lot of poor behaviour on the roads.

"What pulled at my heart strings was the accident that happened by Subway… That really hit home to me… To me, these guys need to slow down and pay attention. They can't stop on a dime – and your vehicle can't stop at a dime when you're racing through the light."

Morris says the protest will get started at 2 p.m. this Sunday, Jan. 29, with people with placards standing along the highway near a few downtown intersections, depending on numbers. She plans to be on Alexander, near the former site of the Mailboxes Etc store.

"We're hoping for a good turnout – that's the first step, and possibly doing it again. Then getting into city hall, one of their meetings, to voice our opinions," she says, adding the step after that would be to go to the transportation ministry.

 



Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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