B.C. man killed in Whidbey Island crash was well-known computer game designer

trojan33 said on September 7, 2010 at 4:56 PM

I still play Co of Heroes every once in a while. Feel so bad for baby to not have their father.

emptynestr said on September 7, 2010 at 3:21 PM

I just want to say that we need to clamp down on DUI. Most of the recent accidents have been attributed to DUI use. This just makes me crazy. Get them OFF THE ROAD. Take their drivers licenses away from them and make them EARN them back. Even MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) hasn't made a dent in this problem but I admire their effort. More needs to be done however. I am very angry about all these unnecessary "accidents" which aren't really "accidents" but careless manslaughter. Using a vehicle is just as deadly as using a gun. Doesn't matter what the weapon of choice is, the fact of the matter is people who shouldn't be using either one do and by doing so they kill innocent people. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

emptynestr said on September 7, 2010 at 3:15 PM

To sresare: I am so sorry for your whole family and extended family in the loss of your cousin Brian. My son Brian was the one who called 911 and was there with Erin until the medics arrived. I hope the dog was ok and that she and Trodger are reunited. I too have Canadian roots as my grandparents are buried in West Van. My mom was from Canada. I spent many family vacations up there and it is like my second home. A friend of mine who lives on Whidbey sent me a note from a friend of hers whose son was one of the first responders after my son called 911. The mother was the one who has to make out the death certificates. So it brought all this real close to home and personal for us . I am just glad that my son was able to be there for Erin when she needed someone to comfort her. I continue to pray for her and that little one. I pray that the baby will be healthy and will be of comfort to her as she cradles him in her arms. I lost my mom 2 days before my youngest son was born.

emptynestr said on September 7, 2010 at 3:02 PM

weichert : Calling me a liar is pretty strong words. And just what do you feel I am lying about? I called it as my son WHO WAS THERE , told it to me. And Driving IS a privilege NOT a RIGHT. Peoples lives are at stake and those who drive need to be paying attention at all times because they have a RESPONSIBILITY and an OBLIGATION to drive safely. To do anything else or to be under the influence of any drug or alcohol should render them UNFIT to drive. Period. Young man you happen to be calling a 74 year old a liar and I think you have one heck of a lot of growing up to do before you shoot your mouth off. I am sorry for your loss as well. But then bad choices don't bring dead people back to life either. Maybe you should take a lesson from this and see first hand that what your sister did was wrong and consider the consequences of her bad choices. I hope when you get to driving age that you do better. Set a better example.

stryker said on September 7, 2010 at 12:16 PM

zaxxon7469, Monkey Hill Road is only 35 mph isnt it? I used to live there off of W Ducken and it never seemed live a dangerous road to me. I dont think its considered a highway either. I clipped this from the other story, " on SR20 just south of Monkey Hill Road ", but YES, Hwy 20 is only 2 lanes most of time, and has a hill climbing lane just south of the intersection..

zaxxon7469 said on September 7, 2010 at 11:43 AM

I was just playing his game last night. It is one of my favorite games. My condolence goes out to the families of the victims. I know that portion of road, I was nearly sidesiped by someone crossing the center line when I was last on it with my family. I know the state is trying to put in safety plans like rumble strips, but this fatality put light on the fact, all the safety plans in the world can Not help unatentive drivers, DUI, and other crimes on the road. These two lane highways should have at the minimum an 18" barrier, to give people another second to react.

bscowler said on September 7, 2010 at 10:12 AM

There have been lots of comments about how this stretch of Monkey Hill Road is dangerous because it's a two-lane highway with no divider. I drove past the accident site on Sunday, and it's a typical two-lane highway like you see all over the country. Motorists who are paying attention and driving at the speed limit (or close to it) have no problem staying in their lane. Blaming the road for this tragedy is like blaming the maker of the driver's sweatshirt. I'm still not sure how I feel about whether the two girls should be charged with anything. As someone else has mentioned, most of us have been in situations where we've asked a passenger to steer for a few seconds. Negligent homicide seems more appropriate than vehicular manslaughter, but I'm sure that the lives of all three survivors have been changed forever, and punishing the driver and passenger might be unnecessary. I am truly sorry to hear about this tremendous loss of life, and my heart goes out to everyone involved.

stryker said on September 7, 2010 at 9:54 AM

sresare, my thoughts a prayers are with your family.

sresare said on September 7, 2010 at 8:53 AM

My cousin, was Brian the father-to-be that died Friday evening. In his last act to protect his wife and baby to be, he swerved the car so the impact would crush him and not them. Our hearts our broken for his wife, Erin, who is absolutely crushed at losing him and his baby will never get to meet him. Brian was the sweetest and kindest man, he did not deserve to die as a result of someone else's irresponsibility.

eightwrong said on September 7, 2010 at 8:41 AM

weichert, you can't make broad assumptions that everyone lets other people steer for them. Not everyone drives under the influence of drugs and decides to take their sweater off while they're driving. I'd think my family would be upset at me if I decided to get high, drive without hands and kill three people. Sorry about your sister, but that's part of being a grown-up--taking responsibility for her own actions. If the guy in the other car killed "her", I think you'd be right there in the courthouse.

stryker said on September 7, 2010 at 8:09 AM

Read the related story. She was on drugs also. weichert, you should be more concerned with how the families of THE PEOPLE YOUR SISTER KILLED feel.

pspop said on September 7, 2010 at 6:27 AM

"Forget living green! I'm trading in my Prius for a Ford F350 truck!!" It's funny, I think about this every time I read an article about a bicyclist being killed by an inattentive driver and someone inevitably comments that it is simple physics. Force equals mass time acceleration. Why do so many drunk drivers drive SUV's? They are concerned for their safety, of course. To the lady's brother, I am pretty sure you will be able to see her tomorrow and as often as you would like after that. If she does any jail time it will be minimal, less than 6 months. The three victims will not be seeing their families again on this earth. This is a tragedy all around and I am sure there were no intentional thoughts of harming others but at some point, probably way down the road, we as a society will maybe get a little tired of saying "whoops, you're dead" and start holding people accountable for their actions.

alain_delon said on September 7, 2010 at 1:10 AM

Forget living green! I'm trading in my Prius for a Ford F350 truck!!

weichert said on September 7, 2010 at 12:14 AM

brewster, pspop, bazwest, littledude, my sister was the driver of that car and you can not say that u have never had somebody stear for you because everybody has, and my sister has been punished enough, the two other people that died was my step (brother her fiance), and her best friend. i will not be able to see my sister for 20 years and to think about it im only 13, old enough to now what is goin on. so all u guy can mind your own buisness because what if it was your family how would you feel. and emptynestr your a liar you were not on the sight.

emptynestr said on September 6, 2010 at 9:56 PM

My son was there at the scene of the accident and called 911 then calmed the BC woman until medics arrived. He has been affected by this whole thing as well and so has our whole family. About a mile and a half further down the road was another accident, a rollover into a ditch. He called 911 on that one as well. So many accidents that day that it is making my head spin. There were two rollover accidents between Everett and Marysville on I-5 and one on highway 9. What in the world are people doing besides what they are suppose to be doing? It just blows my circuits. Seems to me that we need a whole re-education program for anyone who renews a drivers license or get one for the first time. Make it harder for people to get a drivers license. DRIVING IS A PRIVILEGE NOT A RIGHT! Maybe if more people got that through their heads we might (just MIGHT) see a reduction in accidents.

brewster said on September 6, 2010 at 9:46 PM

This was absolutely no accident! Driving a 2 ton vehicle down the road, then pull a sweater over your head! This was murder, at least as bad as driving down the road firing a gun at oncoming cars! A SUV can do lot more damage than a 9mm bullet! This state needs to grow up and start charging the killers on our roads! An unborn baby left without a dad because of a stupid cu&*!

clear2copy said on September 6, 2010 at 9:46 PM

Don't fool yourself.. the kid that shot that hiker was looking at her head through his scope at the time he pulled the trigger.. that's a little more than an 'incident'

irascible said on September 6, 2010 at 6:18 PM

pspop, I don't think the hunter kid is held to a higher standard at all. He got 30 days of juvenile detention. These women will be charged with vehicular homicide, a class A felony.

pspop said on September 6, 2010 at 5:47 PM

Yep, just an accident. Just like the poor kid who made a mistake and killed the hiker in the hunting accident. Both were "accidents" but we held the 14 year old to a higher standard than we will this adult because one was with a firearm and the other with a motor vehicle. 45,000 americans accidentally killed on the roads every year. Maybe, just maybe, we need to start using another word. Incident, collision both of those are more descirptive of what actually happened. A deliberate decision to do something careless or reckless was made and three people died. Countless others will be affected by this. We all make mistakes, we all do dumb things. When you kill another human being through your thoughtlessness you should pay dearly. A human life is worth more than a careless driving ticket.

bazwest said on September 6, 2010 at 4:07 PM

idiots!

justmyopinion27 said on September 6, 2010 at 3:04 PM

I think about it all of the time that one slip in judgement that seems so minute could kill you. Like not wearing your seatbelt, or pointing a knife toward you while cutting, or not looking where you are going and falling, or getting in the car with the wrong people. So many tiny decisions could have prevented this terrible accident yet it happened anyway. Six people's decisions collided so to speak. So small are we is all I can say. A friend of mine happens to be involved in this in some way and all I can feel is shock. A terrible accident. As far as I am concerned it could have been anyone. I am not a friend of the girl driving. I do not know her. Her hell will equal and surpass those of the others left to survive and mourn. As much as I hate to say it, my heart goes out to her and I'm sure she wishes she would have been among those who died. We have all made mistakes and most have been lucky enough not to kill strangers....or the people we love in the process.

tresjbenet said on September 6, 2010 at 1:59 PM

Oh so he's more improtnat than the others who lost their lvies.Its the same ground zero moque story with a different headline.

kula280710781997 said on September 6, 2010 at 12:36 PM

Maybe the 2-way undivided hiway should be a thing of the past. We can no longer count on the majority of drivers paying attention to what they are doing. Scary.

littledude said on September 6, 2010 at 12:25 PM

lol that will suck for you

ritabita said on September 6, 2010 at 12:23 PM

The other day, my sister and I were talking about how we think we'll die. Without hesitation, my answer was that I will definitely die by the hands of someone in a car, due to inattentive driving. Sweater removal, texting, using a handheld phone, and just plain stupidity will be how I bite it one day. All it takes is for that on-coming car to move over the center line a mere few inches, and your life can be ended just like that. I'm so sick of people doing other things besides driving when they are operating a moving vehicle.