NEAR LUMBY – It has been almost a year since a tragic accident along the Shuswap River, when 69-year-old Kenneth Gregg Fisher, who went by Gregg, died when his pick-up went off Shuswap River Drive northeast of Lumby, down an embankment and into the river below.
After his death, his family and the community called for more safety measures along that road to prevent similar tragedies. Those upgrades are now in place. Crews finished widening the road and installing concrete barriers at the end of April.
It’s welcome news for Gregg’s brother, Richard Fisher.
“I know Gregg would be so impressed with this barrier,” he says. “We don’t want this to happen to any other families because we’ve suffered quite a loss.”
Authorities recovered Gregg’s truck over a month later, with his body still inside. His death prompted the community to spring into action.
Read More: Body Recovered from Shuswap River
But the upgrades come too late for Gregg. MacGregor says he would like to see a more proactive approach to road safety, “instead of waiting till something like this tragedy happens.”
The provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says they installed the barriers after consulting with locals and the coroner’s office.
“Safety on our highway system is our top priority and we take it very seriously,” a ministry spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We regularly monitor the performance of the highway, taking into account traffic growth and incidents like these, to guide us in planning for safety improvements.”
Comments