This is not a happy story, but I feel compelled to write.
Yesterday, on the way home from Jenny's swim meet in
Fernie, we came upon a tragic scene. The first thing I noticed was a red SUV nose down in the left ditch. In the next moment, a wave of horror washed over me as I saw a crumpled sheet laying across the centre line of the highway.
I knew instantly that it was not good.
There were people moving about in the ditch by the vehicle and several more on the other side of the road. Passersby had obviously arrived on the scene before us and were aiding those involved. I then recognised the single red crescent shape of a fender lying on the the pavement before detecting the remaining wreckage of a motorcycle several feet away. There were no police nor any rescue vehicles there yet, so it must have happened shortly before we rounded the curve.
We had pulled over onto the shoulder and were stopped as all traffic had come to a halt in the wake of the accident. A gentleman was speaking with the driver of the car in front of us before approaching our window. He asked if we had a blanket he could use. I told him that we did and retrieved my old, weathered car rug from the back of the van. He promptly carried it across the road and wrapped it gently around the shoulders of one of the victims beside the truck in the ditch.
To those unknown strangers who's lives were touched and taken, I wish you Godspeed.