Parents killed in Trans-Canada head-on crash near Salmon Arm identified
Two children have been left without their parents after a head-on collision on the Trans-Canada Highway near Salmon Arm earlier this month.
Mike and Robin Martel were killed, Oct. 2, when their SUV collided with a commercial truck near Tappen.
"Mike and his beautiful wife Robin were taken from us in a tragic accident while commuting to their new home in B.C.," an online fundraiser for the family reads. "(They) leave for us to cherish their babies, Maverick and Bailee Jo."
The fundraiser was started by Mike Martel's cousin Nadine Bouchard to support the children as they're treated at the B.C. Children's Hospital. Any extra funds will be held in trust for them. The fundraiser has collected more than $57,000 as of Oct. 11 and it was started on Oct. 4.
Salmon Arm RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service were investigating the collision, where the SUV and the commercial truck were travelling in opposite directions.
RCMP continued the investigation the next day, but said investigators believed the collision was caused by driver error. Police said the SUV moved into the oncoming lane, where it hit the truck in a head-on collision.
Robin and Mike Martel were pronounced dead at the scene, but their children were taken to hospital in stable condition.
The online fundraiser can be found here.
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