The Christmas Eve bus crash that left four dead and dozens of others injured is something one B.C. family will never forget.
Bill, Brooklyn and Bonnie Gerber were driving to Kelowna from Abbotsford to be with their family on Christmas Day when they came upon the crash.
“We couldn’t drive by, we needed to stop,” said Bill Gerber, who was with his wife and daughter at the time.
“At first my wife went back to see what she could do and then my daughter Brooklyn went back.”
His daughter Brooklyn has first-aid training and Bonnie, his wife, is a retired nurse.
“Whoever was in front of us we asked what you need, where do you hurt, what can we do for you,” said Bonnie.
“The first thing I thought was this is like a bad scene in the movie where I close my eyes, but I can’t close my eyes,” said Brooklyn. “We did what we could by giving them warm stuff, my mom was hugging lots of people. Dad and I were saying are you okay, are you okay, do you need to call someone.”
Brooklyn quickly ran to the car and grabbed extra blankets and warm clothing and handed them out to people who were cold. She also helped people phone their families, so they could let them know they were OK.
“A lot of their phones were on the bus, so I gave them my phone and they were able to call their family and say hey I am okay, but I won’t be in Abbottsford tonight,” said Brooklyn.
Bonnie tended to those who looked to be hurt badly, dressing wounds and wrapping up cuts with towels, as they waited for emergency crews to arrive.
The trio were reassuring people that help was on the way.
“There was a lady traveling with her mother and her mother was stuck in the bus and she approached the bus and saw that she had passed,” said Bill.
“And she walked away sobbing, just sobbing heartfelt sobs. So I just came up to her and hugged her and this Brandy woman also came on the other side and hugged her.”
“We been having thinking a lot about what we could we have done better or what could we have done more.”
A half-hour later, the Gerber family got back into their car and continued driving to Kelowna. Brooklyn has been able to stay in touch with many of the families due to her willingness to let them use her phone.
Kelowna RCMP confirmed four people died Saturday in the single-vehicle crash on Highway. 97C near the Loon Lake exit, east of Merritt.
The bus was traveling westbound when it rolled onto its side in what have been described as icy conditions. It ended up in the eastbound lanes of the highway that connects Kelowna to the Coquihalla Highway.
Comments