Few people have been called to identify a corpse, but those who have are scarred for life.
When West Kelowna‘s Rick Ould spoke to longtime buddy John Newsome on June 24, 2005, it turned out to be their final conversation.
Newsome, 52, of Summerland and Deborah Murphy, 46, of Kelowna were killed when an SUV travelling at high speed crashed into the Summerland house in which they were sleeping just after midnight on June 25. Newsome had transferred to Penticton from Vancouver with Canada Post two months earlier. He was renting the house at Prairie Valley Road and Darke Road.
A police officer broke the news to Ould in a phone call at about 5:30 a.m.
“It hits you like a slap in the face at that time of the morning,” he said. “It‘s sort of a surreal, can‘t-really-believe-it‘s-happened because I was just talking to him the night before.”
Because Newsome had no next of kin, police asked Ould to come to Penticton Regional Hospital to identify the body.
“His whole chest was bruised up, and it was not a sight to see, I‘ll tell you that.”
Ould and Newsome had been friends for more than 20 years.
In August 2008, 47-year-old Mitchell Bertrand, driver of the vehicle, was jailed for five years and prohibited from driving for 12 years after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing death. His blood alcohol level after the crash was .23, nearly three times the legal limit.
Ould called the deaths of Newsome and Murphy “a tragedy” caused by an act that was “thoughtless (and) unnecessary.”
As Ould began hearing the evidence revealed during Bertrand‘s trial, bothering him most was that Bertrand, like anyone who has been consuming alcohol, could have called a taxi or looked for a ride home from a friend.
Before the crash, Summerland RCMP had been searching for a vehicle matching the description of the SUV, which had gone through a downtown police road check. Police testified that the SUV was travelling at highway speeds when it crashed into the house.
“It‘s just, basically, five or six opportunities for this not to have happened, and yet it does,” he said. “It‘s a little saddening.”
Ould said each time he drives through Summerland, memories of his friend begin churning inside of him and he feels a sickness in the pit of his stomach.
If there is an upside to the tragedy, it is Ould‘s changed attitude about accidents involving impaired drivers.
“I think I was probably much more cavalier in my attitude about it, and about other people drinking and driving,” he said. “Now, when I have people over to the house, you make sure everybody‘s sober when they‘re leaving, or else they take a cab. You do what you can.
“I‘m certainly more aware of it and more concerned about it, and the actions of those around me and my own actions.”
This is the message police have been working to drill into all drivers, particularly during December.
Each year, the RCMP co-ordinates its holiday road checks, which will continue until the new year. There‘s one in Kelowna today.
Sgt. John Rasmussen of South Okanagan Traffic Services said the first check occurred in Penticton on Dec. 4.
“We ended up with 12 impaired drivers, one refusal (and) 16 24-hour suspensions,” said Rasmussen. “We always get good enforcement numbers on that first one because people are not really thinking about road checks. What we find is the subsequent ones we do, the numbers go down.”
As the trend of high numbers of drinking drivers continues at the start of each holiday season, does that mean drunk driving is on the increase?
Rasmussen believes today‘s youth are aware of the risks associated with driving drunk or stoned.
“We‘ve done a great job of educating them,” he said. “What we‘re finding is (with) the over-40 crowd out there, basically the message hasn‘t gotten through. They grew up at a different time and still tend to drink and drive, and, predominantly, those are a lot of the ones that we catch.”
Princess Margaret Secondary School in Penticton is among the many schools with drunk driving programs aimed at senior students.
Principal Don MacIntyre said it is part of ICBC‘s RoadSense program for Grades 11-12.
“Also, this type of an issue is discussed in our planning class,” he said. “There‘s also a dry grad presence in the school through the parents, who specifically sponsor an event that‘s designed to be drug- and alcohol-free.”
Through these types of activities, senior students receive ongoing updates regarding the hazards of drinking and driving. MacIntyre noted school officials also like to promote a general message of health and well-being around the students.
Earlier this year, the drug-and-alcohol worker at the school sponsored an event that simulated binge drinking, drug use and other activities that sometimes occur at weekend house parties during high school.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a charitable, grassroots organization committed to stopping impaired driving and offering victim support.
Vicki Travis is the community leader for the MADD chapter in Kelowna, and she believes that its message about the lethal dangers of drinking or driving with someone who has been drinking is sinking in.
“Our high school presentations are having an impact, with students emailing us about how it has affected them,” she said.
One method used in schools across Canada adopted the visual impact of movies such as this year‘s Wasted, a graphic representation of what happens when teenagers drive while impaired.
“But we are up against the attitude you have when you are young – that you are invincible, that you will live forever and that your whole life is ahead of you no matter what you do,” Travis said. “That is why it is especially heartbreaking when a young driver dies in an impaired crash. A life-altering decision has been made with tragic, wide-reaching consequences with an outcome that is preventable.”
With New Year‘s Eve creeping up, Rasmussen is issuing the following caveat to anyone wanting to knock back a few drinks and then try to drive home:
“We‘ve really boosted up our resources,” he said. “We‘re going to have dedicated traffic people in all the communities this year. It‘s not going to be those large, major road checks where you‘ll see a lot of flashlights on the road.”
Those who think they can sneak past police could be in for a surprise.
“You may or may not see a policeman depending on where you‘re going that night,” said Rasmussen. “But your risk is going to be higher if you‘re going to be drinking and driving.” Top of Page
