Family of 4 among dead in fiery B.C. crash
Written by on February 10th, 2012 in Latest News.
A family of four were among those killed when their SUV collided head-on with a semi trailer outside the town of McLeese Lake, B.C, the Prince George Citizen reports.
The newspaper reported that Matt Altizer, 40, his wife Leah and their two children, Jonathan, a Grade 8 student and Emily, a Grade 6 student died in the crash. Altizer worked for the newspaper as a systems manager.
Police said a fifth person in the SUV also died, but no name has been released. The truck driver was not injured.
The two vehicles burst into flames on impact after the SUV crossed the centre line of the highway, about 60 kilometres north of Williams Lake, RCMP said.
The newspaper said the Altizers were on a road trip to Vancouver when the accident occurred about 40 kilometres north of Williams Lake.
“We have not only lost a colleague but a fantastic friend today,” said the Citizen’s interim publisher, Coleen Sparrow. “Matt was a kind and gentle man who would go out of his way to help anyone, and patience was his hallmark.”
The SUV was so terribly burned, police were not immediately able to determine what type of car it was, RCMP Insp. Warren Brown told CBC News.
Another witness said the charred wreckage of the passenger vehicle was underneath the truck.
Greg Foster, a pub owner in the nearby community of McLeese Lake, said he rushed to the scene after hearing about the collision.
“Everything was smouldering at the time. Materials all over the highway,” Foster said.
Foster said there is no fire department in McLeese Lake and the nearest fire hall is about 30 minutes away.
With files from the CBC’s Ben Hadaway
