Group of over 40 motorcycles take part in memorial ride for victims of fatal KSS crash

A group of 41 motorcycles drove through Kelowna Wednesday night to honour the three K.S.S. students who lost their lives in a car crash last month.

Grade 12 students Katelin Bevan, Samara Haverko and Ryan Thomson were all killed after their car crashed into a pole on Gordon Drive near Cook Road.

The student's names were made public after their obituaries were posted late last week.

Rob Gordon participated in the memorial ride which was organized by fellow rider Nathan Matis through an app called Tonit.

"They decided they were going to do this memorial group ride. Domcor Traffic Control organized the traffic for us. We drove from Kelowna Secondary School all the way down to the memorial site. We passed around three times and stopped to grieve," Gordon said.

Gordon says he wasn't connected with the crash personally but says he wanted to show his support for the community.

"We all dressed in black and yellow. I didn't know anybody from the event. I just felt like it was something I could participate in," he said.

Matis says he organized the event to show support and spread love to those directly and indirectly affected.

"Our bike club has many members who were affected by the KSS crash, both indirectly and directly. Our club has always been about connecting and being in the community. So we felt it was appropriate to gather as a team and honour the victims, families, and members. We want them to know they are loved and we are thinking about them," he said.

A number of fundraisers have been started over the past two weeks.

Over $80,000 dollars has been raised through a GoFundMe for the families of the three victims.

The Katelin Bevan Kelowna Memorial Fund was started on May 28 with a goal of $10,000 and has already reached $9,500. The fundraiser aims to establish a scholarship or bursary in honour of the three victims.

A GoFundMe for Samara Haverko's family was started on May 27, and over $18,000 has been raised to date.