Prince George, B.C. – There was a large turnout at the Prince George Civic Centre Sunday night as the community gathered to say goodbye to members of a Prince George family who passed away in a tragic traffic accident earlier this month.

Hundreds of people, including family, friends, co-workers and fellow parishioners attended the memorial service for Matt, Leah, Jonathan and Emily Altizer and Matt’s sister Heather Kress. 

 

The five perished in a two-vehicle accident February 9^th on Highway 97, five kilometres north of McLeese Lake. They were heading to Vancouver to take in some Davis Cup tennis between Canada and France when their S-U-V collided with a tractor trailer unit. The S-U-V wound up underneath the semi in a ditch and both vehicles caught fire. 

One witness to the accident was interviewed and Corporal Madonna Saunderson with Prince George Regional Provincial Traffic Services says more people who travelled through that area that day have come forward and contacted police.   She says investigators from the Williams Lake RCMP detachment will have to interview them in an effort to determine the circumstances that led to the collision. The accident occurred at about 9:30 in the morning. The highway was bare and wet at the time.

Cpl. Saunderson says a mechanical inspection of the two vehicles was not possible due to the severity of the damage caused by the collision and fire. She says the vehicle histories will be accessed if possible to see whether that information sheds any light on the investigation.   As well a coroner’s report will be forwarded to police at some point.

The driver of the semi escaped serious injury in the accident.