Editor:
I had a near death experience on July 25, while watching a softball game at Hackett Park, when a minivan slammed into the wooden bleachers.
The van’s force totally destroyed the corner that connected the two wings of the bleachers and stopped only a few inches from where I was sitting. The noise of the crash was like a bomb detonating right next to me. I was facing forwards and had no warning. I was shocked.
I remember I asked the driver if she was all right as her open window was right beside me. I wondered, at the same time, how her van had suddenly appeared.
I got up and walked around to find my wife, who was joining me at the game. The immensity of the danger and ‘what could have happened’ began to sink in and I had no choice but to let the tears come.
It was a miracle that no person, including the teen driver and her passenger, was physically injured.
I was most impressed by the speed and professionalism of the police, firefighters and paramedics who quickly attended the scene. After the van was removed, the District of Sechelt maintenance worker immediately replaced the stop sign that had been destroyed in the crash.
I hope the crash, although traumatic and costly, is also a life changing event for the teens in the van.
Ed White, Sechelt
