Coroner issues safety reminder after 19 people killed on B.C. highways

In just five days, nineteen people have died on B.C. highways prompting the province’s coroner to issue a safety reminder. 

On Friday, the BC Coroners Service reported that between July 5 and July 10 there were 19 motor vehicle-related deaths.

Twelve of the deaths occurred during three incidents in the Interior.

Acting chief coroner John McNamee is extending condolences to all the people affected by the tragedies.

“We know there are far-reaching impacts, as family and friends across the province, and beyond, mourn the loss of their loved ones,” says McNamee. 

The BC Coroners Service is urging people to take extra care while planning road trips and driving. 

“While so many of us look forward to summer trips, unfortunately, statistics show the risk of deadly motor-vehicle crashes is much greater in July, August and September,” says McNamee.

In 2023, 331 people died in a motor-vehicle incident in B.C. 

People are asked to know their routes and allow time for delays, wear seat belts, obey posted speed limits and avoid distracted driving. 

Deadly crashes in B.C.

An investigation into the 19 deaths this week is ongoing and no further details are being released. 

On July 11, a woman in her early 20s was ejected from her vehicle and died. The single-vehicle collision occurred on Highway 99, north of King George Boulevard in Surrey. Two other people who were in the vehicle were injured and taken to the hospital.

Also on July 11, two people were killed in a collision on Highway 1 near Boston Bar.

Four people from the same extended family, travelling in the same vehicle, died in a crash involving two cars and a tractor trailer near Becks Road in Keremeos. The collision shut down Highway 3 for eight hours on July 10.

Also on July 10, a 70-year-old Langley man died after a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on Golden Ears Way.

On July 9, a family of three, including a baby, died in Agassiz on the Lougheed Highway.

Also on July 9, another three people died when their vehicle went over an embankment in Wilmer, north of Invermere.

Meanwhile, a single-vehicle incident in Mission on July 8 claimed a life; a few days earlier, on July 5, four people were killed in a crash in the West Kootenays on Highway 6.