The community of Cupar, Sask., is in mourning after a fatal collision outside Southey claimed the life of a 40-year-old woman.
Daphne Schmidt was a passenger in a car with three others when their car was involved in a head-on collision with a truck on Highway 6 on Saturday evening.
A mother of two children and wife, Daphne worked as an educator at a daycare in Regina. Friends told Global News the Schmidt family had just moved to an acreage in town a few years ago.
“Everybody is devastated because we’re a close knit community and we feel it. We feel it for the family,” family friend Judy Bailey said.
“I knew her to be a kind, quiet person.”
Another resident, Allan, said the entire town is shocked and he couldn’t believe it when he heard the news.
“They were a normal family … everybody is quite shocked at a tragedy like that, quite shocked,” he said.
On Facebook, there was an outpouring of support from friends and family who knew her.
Facebook friend Shawna Pluecks wrote “you were an amazing co worker and and even better friends (sic). You were always there to give you a hug, a laugh and a smile when I needed it.
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Thirty-four-year-old Wade Michael Ganje of Weyburn appeared in provincial court Monday morning.
RCMP have charged him with multiple charges including impaired driving cause death, impaired driving over .08, dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop.
In December, SGI handed out 353 impaired driving charges in the province. It’s up from 308 when compared to December 2015.
Despite a traffic blitz and increased campaigning, SGI media relations spokesperson Kelley Brinkworth said the numbers were disappointing.
“People are hearing about it, and talking about it. It’s disappointing to see that it’s not translating into behaviour change,” Brinkworth said.
A friend of the family has launched a GoFundMe page to help cover some of the financial burden.
In a post, Tasha Brier wrote:
“Last night the most wonderful Mother, Wife, Auntie, Daughter and Friend was taken from us by a drunk driver. Words cannot even begin to express the loss felt by all those that knew her. Her beautiful smile, contagious laugh and amazing outlook on life was contagious, she had a way of making everyone she met feel special. If you knew Daphne, you loved her! We did not loose her, she was taken. She was taken by someone’s poor decision to drink and drive.”
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