The 78-year-old driver involved in the motor vehicle accident that closed Highway 22 between Blueberry and Fairview on Nov. 20 passed away as a result of his injuries and his daughter is now looking for some closure.
Werner Schulz was driving a Nissan Quest and travelling southbound on Highway 22 when he entered the northbound lane.
“A northbound vehicle was clipped by the Nissan Quest as the driver tried to avoid the head-on collision, and a second vehicle behind her also swerved and avoided being struck. A third vehicle, a white Kia Sportage, was hit head-on. The driver of that vehicle is recovering,” the Castlegar RCMP disclosed last Wednesday.
The RCMP are investigating and anyone who witnessed the accident can contact them at 250-365-7721.
But the police aren’t the only ones looking for answers.
Schulz’s daughter, Rene Constable, would like to speak to anyone who may have spoken to her father following the accident.
“My dad was able to speak for a very brief time when he was in the ER, right after the accident, and he had no memory at that time of the accident.
“He didn’t know what happened, but very shortly thereafter he was not able to breathe on his own anymore and they had to intubate him and he never spoke again,” explains Constable.
Schulz survived on life support for a week before he passed away.
His injuries included two broken legs, a pelvic fracture and 17 broken ribs. Both of his lungs were punctured.
But when Constable and her family were first contacted they had no idea how serious her father’s injuries were. Her mother called her two or three hours after the accident.
“And then I talked to the hospital, the nurse that was looking after him in the ER, and we didn’t know. At first, we thought he had a broken leg, so we had no idea it was as serious as it was,” she said.
It wasn’t until the doctor called her that she knew how badly her father had been injured and then Constable and her husband drove from West Kelowna to Trail.
Schulz was already on life support when Constable arrived and he passed away shortly after he was taken off life support. So
Constable is hoping that if anyone spoke to her father following the accident, they can contact her and help give her some closure.
Anyone who’d like to contact Constable can contact newsroom@castlegarnews.com and one of our staff will pass along your information.