Friends and family are grieving and honouring the man killed after he was struck by a snowplow in Abbotsford, B.C., on Thursday.
Anthony Hetzel, 31, had been in a vehicle accident on his way to work as an electrician and exited his vehicle on Highway 1 just after 6 a.m. While on foot near North Parallel and Fooks roads, he was hit by a snowplow.
He died of his injuries in the hospital, leaving behind his wife Ashley and one-year-old son, Fox.
“He’s just such a provider at heart. He’s like the foundation of the family,” Meagan McManus told Global News on Friday.
McManus and her husband have been “best friends” with Hetzel and Ashley for about 15 years, she added, having attended high school together in Port Coquitlam.
“There’s a whole group of friends that are still connected and Anthony was a big part of that,” McManus said.
“He was kind of the glue that held everybody together.”
McManus, who has now launched a GoFundMe campaign to support the family, said the friend group is “family” — full of avid gamers who enjoy playing together.
She said Hetzel would always check in on everyone and to keep them in touch. His smile would “light up the room,” she added.
“We’ve spent a lot of years getting to know them. I think Anthony has touched a lot of people with his life. He brings out the best in people and I think he brought out the best in us as well.”
As of 4 p.m., the GoFundMe had raised over $24,000.
McManus said Hetzel was “the best dad” and very “devoted” to little Fox, who has been asking for his daddy since Thursday.
“Fox is too young to really know what’s going on at this point, but we’ll make sure we’re there to tell him how amazing his dad was as time goes on,” she said, tearfully.
“He was just very selfless and always giving to other people versus caring for himself.”
Abbotsford police are still investigating the snowplow collision. The driver, a contractor, remained at the scene and is cooperating, they said in a Thursday news release.
“Impairment is not believed to be a factor in the crash, with inclement weather and snow likely being contributing factors,” police said.
Anyone with dashcam footage or information on the collision is asked to contact 604-859-5225.