Repeat accidents has Kaleden property owner worried about family’s safety

Brent Burton and his family enjoyed more than a decade of peace and quiet on their two-acre property in Kaleden.

That’s why it’s so hard for him to believe there have now been four separate incidents in less than three years— including two serious accidents within 48 hours last week—where vehicles lost control and crashed into his backyard near the intersection of Lakehill Road and Juniper Avenue, only a few metres from Highway 97.

After last week’s incidents, Burton contacted Subrina Monteith, the director for Kaleden on the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) board, to see whether anything could be done to prevent another crash.

Burton, the father of an active six-year-old, has now prohibited his son from playing in the southern section of the property, where all four accidents occurred.

“We’ve lived here for 15 years and there wasn’t a single incident for more than 11 years and then the first incident took place in August of 2022,” said Burton, who lives with his girlfriend and son on the acreage, which is home to chickens, goats and other animals.

“In that first incident a young fella, who I believe was 19, had some sort of medical emergency and came into the yard off the highway. He was unconscious and flew 120 feet down this large embankment. His first point of impact was the top of a cube van, which was split in half.

“He also took out my boat and most of my deer fence and a quarter of the barn.”

The teenager, who had been driving a Ford SUV, miraculously suffered only a minor scratch despite the vehicle being destroyed. He had been coaching at a baseball clinic in Oliver and was driving back to Penticton.

“My girlfriend and my son were in this area collecting grasshoppers about half an hour before this happened,” said Burton. “It certainly could have been much worse.”

A few months later, in March 2023, another vehicle crashed in nearly the same place. An elderly man suffered a heart attack behind the wheel and died before his car landed near the garage damaged in the first incident.

“He had a heart attack and the emergency crews suspected he was probably passed away before he even entered my property,” said Burton. “His vehicle landed on its roof and the car was flattened to the doors, so I highly doubt anyone would have survived that impact.”

The third incident occurred last Tuesday around 1 p.m. A Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) officer was following a vehicle on Highway 97.

“I wasn’t home at the time when this one happened,” said Burton. “Apparently, it was an unloaded tractor-trailer that had two kids working for a company and they pulled into Kaleden and saw the CVSE vehicle was following them at high rate of speed with lights and sirens flashing. They pulled over on Lakehill Road and the CVSE guy took the corner off the highway a bit too fast and ended up going over the embankment and ended up halfway through my large storage container. 

“My boat was hit in the back and pushed it 20 feet, destroying the motor. The guy got out on his own. I heard he did suffer some injuries like broken ribs or broken bones. He was conscious and moaning in pain from reports I received, but should recover.”

Burton contacted Monteith the next day to inform her of the crash and ask whether she could speak with Ministry of Transportation staff.

“The first two were more or less bad luck, but this one scared me,” he said. “I have a young son and I make sure he doesn’t come near this part of the yard. Now I’m kind of afraid to be in this part because of what’s happened.”

A tow truck removed the CVSE vehicle later that day, though it had sustained major damage.

Incredibly, another serious crash occurred less than 48 hours later, just after 9 a.m. Thursday.

A “relatively new” Honda Pilot lost control on Highway 97 after a couple of inches of snow fell and landed only a few feet from the same storage shed struck in Tuesday’s incident. The SUV remained on Burton’s property Friday morning as a local tow company needed special equipment to remove it.

“There was a bit of snow on the highway and the off-ramp had a little bit of slush on it,” Burton said. “I don’t know what happened to be honest, except this driver also came crashing down the embankment and landed on its side. I don’t know what happened, but sure sounds like the driver was moving too fast for the conditions on the road.”

Burton said he still can’t believe four vehicles have crashed down the same embankment into his yard.

“There has been a lot of emotions, but I’m not angry,” he said. “These two incidents this week, it’s obvious they could have killed somebody.”

He hopes the Ministry of Transportation will consider installing some type of barrier on the north side of Lakehill Road before the turnoff to Juniper Avenue.

“I’m concerned about safety and it’s at a point where I think something should be done,” he said. “Hopefully they can install some sort of barrier. All four incidents involved vehicles going from south heading north, so hopefully they can do something to protect this corner. I just don’t want to have to run up here again and go through the trauma of finding somebody dead.”

Monteith said she has notified the Penticton Ministry of Transportation office about the latest incidents.

“I let them know this is a concern. They informed me they were aware of it and they are looking at what they can do,” she said.

Because the road narrows at the top of Lakehill Road after exiting Highway 97, and because of the steep embankment leading to Burton’s property, “it’s not a simple solution,” she said.

After several conversations with ministry officials, Monteith said she has been assured the intersection will be added to a project list for future improvements.

“They will have a study done on that section,” she said. “It didn’t get funded last year, but it’s on the project list for this year … I’ve been advocating for it. We need to look at what we can do as a next step.”

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald