WATCH: A day after the death of Alexandra Nyuli, residents are repeating a call to lower the speed limit on an often dangerous highway. Klaudia Van Emmerik reports.
KELOWNA – It is a tragedy that is being felt throughout the entire community.
On Wednesday, 21-year old Alexandra Nyuli lost her life tragically in a car crash. She was driving along Highway 33 in Joe Rich, just east of Kelowna, when her car suddenly crossed the centre line and went 80 metres down a steep embankment.
It was just after 4 p.m. when emergency crews responded to the crash, about three kilometres past a hairpin turn. Nyuli’s father is the community’s fire chief and was one of the first responders on scene.
READ MORE: Victim in fatal Okanagan crash is fire chief’s daughter
While residents mourn the loss, they’re now calling on the provincial government to take action to reduce accidents on the road. They’re upset that several months ago the speed limit through Joe Rich was increased from 90 to 100 kilometres per hour. While it’s not known whether speed was a factor in Wednesday’s crash, residents are pleading with the Government to reduce it back down to 90.
“We all know, it does not take rocket science, people being people, if they say they can go 100 they will do 110 or 120,” says John Collinson, president of the Joe Rich Ratepayers Society.
“We have lots of blind driveway. You drive along and can’t really see, you sort of take your chances getting out on the road. It’s the same thing with access roads. You are taking your life in your hands sometimes just pulling out on the road.”
Highway 33 has seen more than its share of accidents, but residents say since the speed limit increased, so has the number of serious crashes. There have now been at least five accidents since the beginning of December.
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Residents recently met with transportation ministry staff to ask for change, but so far nothing has come of it.
“The more people that die maybe something will happen. The trouble is people have to die for something to happen,” says Collinson.
In an email, the Ministry of Transportation told Global News it is monitoring the safety performance of the highway, as it does on all provincial highways. They added that at a meeting with Joe Rich residents in early November 2014, they committed to a review of speed compliance and safety.
There will be a card signing at the Joe Rich Community Hall on Highway 33 in memory of Alexandra starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow. There will also be a donation box to help the family cover funeral expenses.
What led to the crash that claimed Alexandra Nyuli’s life is still not known, but there is one thing Collinson says he knows for sure.
“We need something done. It’s wrong to bury your child before you go into the ground yourself.”
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