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Speaker shares impact of sister's fatal crash

Christina Thrasher recalled how her sister, Jess, always used to make her laugh. She related the time that Jess convinced her to run down the street in the pouring rain, wearing only their bathing suits.
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Christina Thrasher discusses the car crash that took the life of her sister and a friend in January 2008.

Christina Thrasher recalled how her sister, Jess, always used to make her laugh.

She related the time that Jess convinced her to run down the street in the pouring rain, wearing only their bathing suits.

They were sick for two weeks after that.

The memories are all Christina has left. Jess, 16, was killed on Jan. 6, 2008, when she was a passenger in a truck driven by her close friend, Katie McKenzie, 17. The vehicle hit a patch of black ice on Bradner Road near Downes, ran into a telephone pole, travelled across a ditch and ended up on its roof crushed against a tree.

Both girls, students of Rick Hansen Secondary, died instantly. Speed was believed to be a factor in the crash.

Christina shared the story at a road safety presentation held Wednesday at W. J. Mouat Secondary.

The Abbotsford Police Department program has been visiting local high schools to remind students to think about how their decisions – such as speeding or not wearing a seatbelt – can change their lives.

Const. John Davidson, who leads the presentations, said one of the hardest things he has to do as a police officer is inform families when there has been a vehicle fatality. Many of these incidents or due to poor decisions, he said.

"It makes me very sad and it makes me very angry because it's completely avoidable."

Christina discussed what it was like for her to receive the call from the police the night her sister died.

"At first, I thought it was some kind of joke my sister was playing ... I felt my body go numb and the phone drop from my hand as I dropped to my knees and screamed Jess's name."

She said she can still hear the screams that her dad made when he was told about what had happened.

Christina, who sports her sister's name in a tattoo on the inside of her wrist, said she speaks publicly about the tragedy so that young people will think about their behaviours behind the wheel or as a passenger.

She said there might have been something Jess could have done to prevent the accident that killed her. She urged the crowd to remember that "with freedom comes responsibility."

"Don't be that tattoo on somebody's wrist," she said, displaying her tattoo to the audience.

The presentation also featured several public service commercials from the U.K. that offered graphic depictions of car crashes. Two students left the auditorium as they were shown, and Davidson acknowledged they are difficult to watch.

"People have to keep making these commercials because people keep dying," he said.

 

 



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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