The victims of a tragic single-vehicle car crash on Highway 99 in the early hours of Nov. 26 are being identified by family as 22-year-old Josafat Portillo, his two-year-old daughter Natalia, and his brother in law James Paguia.
According to a GoFundMe launched for the victims, they were heading home from a church gathering when the accident occurred.
Iris Paguia Portillo, mother to Natalia and wife to Josafat, was also in the vehicle, and is currently in stable condition, according to police.
The incident occurred just after midnight Saturday near Daisy Lake Dam, police said in a release, and involved a vehicle travelling north with four occupants—three adults and a child.
The vehicle drove off the side of the highway and hit a tree, police said.
Tragically, two of the adults and the child were declared deceased at the scene.
ICARS attended and conducted a full investigation, and the collision is not believed to be criminal in any way.
"This is an absolute tragedy and our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the families, friends, and loved ones of those involved and who will be impacted by this loss. I also wish to personally thank the paramedics, officers, and investigators from all responding agencies for their response, life saving efforts, and assistance," said Insp. Robert Dykstra, Officer in Charge of the Sea to Sky RCMP, in the release.
"There is nothing that we can say at this point about why this incident happened. However, I would like take this opportunity as a general reminder to everyone, with winter weather conditions starting to emerge and the volumes of traffic through the Sea to Sky corridor increasing, it is imperative that drivers take extra care and pay closer attention to their driving. Plan ahead, slow down, adjust to conditions, and remain attentive. It's better to arrive late than not to arrive at all."
Check back with Pique for more as this story develops...
