POLICE – One dead, several injured in multi-vehicle crash at TRU intersection

UPDATE: Statement by TRU President Brett Fairbairn

Dear Colleagues,

It is with profound sadness that I must inform you that three TRU students, who were also members of the WolfPack men’s volleyball team, were involved in a motor vehicle accident on McGill Road at University Drive near the East Gate entrance to our Kamloops campus Wednesday afternoon. The crash took the lives of one of them and critically injured the two others. TRU has been in contact with the students’ families.

It is hard to find words that express how we feel in these moments, in the face of such inexplicable tragedy. Our most sincere thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and on behalf of TRU, I offer our deepest condolences. We grieve with them, along with others, including their teammates, friends, classmates, and professors. This is a loss for the TRU community that will be felt for a long time.

In respecting the privacy of families during this time, the university will not disclose personal information about the individuals involved in the accident.

Students, I encourage you to focus on taking care of yourselves and each other at this time. There are excellent on-line resources for TRU students at Keep.MEsafe. All TRU students have access to this online and app-based site where you can text or speak with a counsellor 24/7.

We have resources on campus available to support you as well. Connect with the Faculty of Student Development in Old Main 1631 or by calling 250.828.5023.

During this difficult time, please remember to support one another.

Sincerely,

Brett Fairbairn
President and Vice-Chancellor

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One person is dead and several others seriously injured after a multi-vehicle collision at the intersection of McGill Road and University Drive on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 29, 2023).

Around 3 p.m., emergency responders were called to the intersection after a Dodge Ram truck collided with several small trees before striking a Volkswagen that was stopped at a red light, creating secondary crashes with four other vehicles.

All three of the occupants in the Volkswagen were taken to hospital; one was declared deceased and the other two received serious injuries, the extent of which are unknown. Two occupants in a Jeep were also transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

“Our hearts are broken for the victims and their families involved in this terrible tragedy,” said RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley.

“The three young adults in the Volkswagen were all members of the community in their 20s, and the loss is sure to have far reaching impacts as we struggle to understand what happened and advance the active investigation as a priority.”

The Kamloops RCMP Municipal Traffic Unit has conduct of the investigation with the assistance of the Southeast District Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service.

Anyone with video, dash camera footage, or information related to the accident that has not yet been shared with police is asked to contact the detachment as soon as possible at 250-828-3000 and reference file 2023-42279.