On Sunday, at 6:50 a.m. the Golden-Field RCMP, BC Highway Patrol and Emergency Services responded to a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 1 at the Yoho National Park west gate, approximately 35km east of Golden BC.
BC Coroner’s Service has confirmed that there were three deceased in the fatal motor vehicle incident in Yoho National Park.
The deceased have been identified as as 25-year-old Tanner Liefting, 30-year-old Brandon Richard Johnson, and 34-year-old Jagsir Singh Gill.
Preliminary investigation shows that a westbound semi truck hauling cattle crossed over the centre line and hit an eastbound semi truck hauling lumber.
Only 1 cattle survived the rest perished.
Although the investigation is still ongoing, it appears as though one of the trucks drove into oncoming traffic and caused a head-on collision.
Highway 1 reopened at 7:45p.m. MST after a 37-hour closure.
All three belonged to the trucking industry. Skilled Truckers Canada via a Facebook post has expressed grief on their passing away citing it as a huge loss to the trucking industry.
Johnson and Liefting were in the same vehicle and were both from Chilliwack, while Gill was from Calgary.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for all 3. According to the GoFundMe, Gill was transporting a huge amount of highly combustible liquid.
Thousands have already been raised through GoFundMe to help support the families of Liefting and Gill, “Tanner Was a loving Husband and father, a talented and hard working individual who had a passion for truck his entire life and was very well known in the Trucking community,” reads Liefting’s page.
“We want Jagsir’s family to see their son one last time,” read’s Gill’s page.
The BC Coroner Service has taken conduct of the investigation, with assistance from the Golden-Field RCMP and the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service.
Anyone with information regarding this collision, including any dashboard camera video, is asked to contact the Golden-Field RCMP.
Photo courtesy of Instagram.
