Coquitlam RCMP say they need data from a damaged memory card to be able to determine whether charges should be laid in an accident that killed three people, including two children, on Lougheed Highway last April.
And while that information should be available early in the new year, safety issues on the highway where the accident that killed Ella Hernandez, 9, her cousin Tyler Mollie Wong Hernandez, 3, and a 30-year-old woman, continue to be a concern.
Seven months have passed since the crash, and with no firm commitments on ways to make the road safer, one family whose daughter died in the accident is growing increasingly concerned that nothing is being done.
“They’re getting frustrated, they don’t have any idea why there hasn’t been any progress,” said family spokesman Stephen Bruyneel, who said the Hernandez family is seeking commitments from the city of Coquitlam, TransLink and the province of B.C. to upgrade the road.
The family is also suing the city, TransLink and the province as well as two drivers allegedly involved, claiming they were negligent.
Michelle Hernandez, the mother of the Ella, is seeking damages in the accident she claims was the fault of two drivers for not operating their vehicles safely, and the province, TransLink and the city of Coquitlam, which the claim states knew the road was unsafe but were negligent in improving it.
The defendants’ responses aren’t yet available but, in her lawsuit, Michelle Hernandez alleges that an attempt by one driver to pass another on the highway resulted in a collision that sent the two northbound vehicles into oncoming traffic in the southbound lanes, with one or both vehicles, a Honda and a Volkswagen, colliding with a Nissan, in which Ella and her cousin were riding, killing them immediately.
As a result, according to the court papers, “The plaintiff has suffered profound loss, damage and expense, and is entitled to recover those damages under the Family Compensation Act and the common law.”
Filed Oct. 24 in Supreme Court, the statement of claim also says the city, South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink) and the Province of B.C. are defendants because they have authority over Lougheed Highway and knew that the section where the accident occurred was “poorly designed, dangerous, and in need of safety barriers, re-engineering and reconstruction.”
The failure to properly remedy a known risk factor, including a failure to install a barrier and widen the road are a “breach of the duty of care,” and demonstrate a “wanton and callous” disregard for the safety of Ella and the public, the lawsuit states.
None of the allegations in the statement of claim have been proven in court.
Since the accident occurred, the city has been clear in stating that Lougheed Highway isn’t wide enough for a barrier because of the CP Rail tracks to the east and the large retaining walls along the Riverview Hospital lands to the west, and therefore a major engineering solution is required to widen the road.
In the aftermath of the accident, there was a huge outpouring of support for the families, including $78,000 raised on a crowdfunding website.
Mounties say the complicated case required a number of search warrants to obtain car data, with most of the information gathered, except for the data on one remaining memory card.
“Everything is still on the table until we get all the evidence,” Cpl. Michael McLaughlin told The Tri-City News.
