VERNON – A grieving family wants barriers put up along Shuswap River Drive to prevent future accidents.
A man was found dead in a truck owned by Kenneth Gregg Fisher, better known as Gregg Fisher, after it was pulled from the water on Thursday.
In June, a witness reported seeing the pick-up drive off the road near Mabel Lake Road and Shuswap River Drive.
READ MORE: Truck in Shuswap River may belong to Lumby man
The fast moving river, swollen with winter run-off, was considered too dangerous for crews to enter on a recovery mission.
An RCMP dive team and Vernon Search and Rescue were finally able to remove the black pick-up from the river Thursday.
It was a difficult wait for Gregg’s family.
“Gregg deserved better than this,” says Sylvia Fisher, Gregg’s sister-in-law.
The family is thankful they were kept informed by RCMP and the support they received from the community.
“Gregg had so many friends and neighbours here that we’ve heard from and that have just been so supportive,” says Fisher.
After Thursday’s recovery mission the family still has questions about why Gregg’s truck ended up in the rushing river.
“Did he have a blackout, did he pass out, was it a heart attack, a brain aneurysm?” asks Fisher.
They’re also left wondering if a barrier could have stopped this tragedy.
“I think if there would have been a barrier there it would have deflected him back onto the road no matter what his state was and that would have prevented the accident,” says Fisher.
The family says there are already efforts underway to get barriers installed.
“That means so much to us, because right now it’s such a dangerous corner there and we don’t want anything like this to happen again,” says Sylvia Fisher.
The family is now waiting for an official ID and more answers about why the crash happened.
The Ministry of Transportation says it’s waiting for an RCMP incident report before assessing whether or not remedial work is needed.
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