The daughter of a prominent Burnaby firefighter has been declared brain dead and is soon to be taken off life support after a serious crash in Abbotsford last week.
Family friends have confirmed 23-year-old Madeline Stroup, also known as Maddy, is being kept alive to allow doctors to recover her organs for donation, which she signed up for when she was 16.
Stroup is the daughter of Burnaby Fire Capt. Dean Stroup and Tara Stroup, who works as an emergency program officer for the Port Coquitlam Fire Department.
Dean’s brother, Dan Stroup, is also a high-ranking member of the Vancouver Fire Department.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Tom McIntosh said Friday Stroup was sitting in the front passenger seat of a pickup truck being driven by her boyfriend, 22-year-old Hayden Turcotte, when it was struck by a SUV in Abbotsford on July 26.
Turcotte was killed in the crash, which happened in the intersection of Marion Road and Wells Line Road just before 3:30 p.m., and Stroup was sent to hospital with serious injuries.
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Another friend, Tyrell Gait, was taken to hospital with minor injuries but has since been released.
The driver of the SUV, a man in his 70s, was taken to hospital with minor injuries, Abbotsford police said at the time.
Family friends say the trio was on their way to pick up another friend when they were hit.
McIntosh, who’s also a Burnaby firefighter, said doctors had told the family Stroup would be taken off life support by 8 p.m. Friday, but that could be delayed to allow doctors to “maximize the use of her organs.”
“Initially there was a really hard struggle over whether to donate her organs at all,” he said. “But they found out she had signed up when she was 16, which was shocking to them. She made that decision by herself, which speaks to the kind of person she is.”
McIntosh said the family is heading to their cabin “to start the healing process,” and would be available to talk further next week.
“This is a huge family,” he said. “Maddy has three siblings who are all married and they all have kids, and that’s before taking in the firefighting families as well. So it’s hitting a lot of people hard.”
A GoFundMe has been set up by members of the Burnaby Fire Department to support the Stroup family, which has raised more than $30,000 so far.
Global News has reached out to the Burnaby Firefighters Association and the fire departments in Port Coquitlam and Vancouver for comment.
Abbotsford police say they are still investigating the cause of the crash.
On Friday, Vancouver Fire Chief Darrell Reid shared his condolences on Twitter, calling the loss of Stroup and Turcotte “heartbreaking.”