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Some motorists jumped into Okanagan Lake to help after fatal crash, most just drove by

Passersby attempted rescue

A West Kelowna couple was first on scene of the fatal crash Thursday night near Peachland.

The incident happened at approximately 10:15 p.m. Thursday, resulting in the vehicle with an elderly man inside, landing upside down and partially submerged in Okanagan Lake.

Police say the vehicle was travelling southbound on Highway 97 when it hit a concrete divider on the right front bumper then steered into the water. The man was found dead at the scene.

That night, Bjorn Torgerson and his fiancée Amanda Tater were heading back into West Kelowna with their two children, after their camping trip was cut short, when they noticed a vehicle on its side in Okanagan Lake along Highway 97 with its brake lights on.

“I thought, ‘man, that just happened.' There were parts of the car everywhere, nobody had stopped yet,” Torgerson said, adding he didn’t see the accident itself, just the aftermath.

The couple pulled over and ran over to the lake where the car was partially submerged, while Tater called police.

Torgerson had camping gear in the car, including a head lamp, pocket knife and blankets. He estimated the vehicle was approximately 50 to 100 feet away from the shoreline in the lake.

Given the severity of the crash, Torgerson says he had a "sixth sense" that the individual in the vehicle didn’t make it. “I just knew there wasn’t anything good going on."

“I ran in the water, knocked on the windows, no reply. I found a rock in the water, it took a couple tries, I smashed out the back driver window."

Once the window was smashed he saw the side airbag and cut it out of the way with his pocket knife to look inside the vehicle, using his head lamp to see through the darkness.

“I looked in there and it was still warm in there and I could hear the guy's phone going off, like some notification beeps," said Torgerson. “I couldn’t see anything.”

Torgerson eventually located the driver, clearly deceased. After about 10 minutes first responders arrived and took over the situation. Torgerson says the first responders confirmed the man was dead and there wasn’t anything he could have done to save him.

Torgerson said he was particularly disturbed by the fact that many other motorists drove by the very noticeable incident by the lake, without offering assistance.

He said a couple people stopped to offer help, but most just slowed down as they passed by and continued on.

The tragic event is still under investigation by the BC Coroners Service and the West Kelowna RCMP.

RCMP is asking anyone who witnessed this incident who has not yet spoken with investigators or has dashcam video and was travelling on the highway in the area during this event to please contact the West Kelowna RCMP at (250) 768-2880.



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