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For 15 years, Brent Burton’s family and an assortment of pets, horses and animals have lived in the kind of peaceful bucolic Okanagan farm many dream of owning.
So when in August 2022, a Ford SUV came careening off a nearby Highway 97 embankment, smashed through fencing and destroyed a boat in storage, Burton wrote it all off as “a fluke.”
“A young fella passed out at the wheel … he flew 120 feet [36 metres],” Burton told CBC Radio West’s Sarah Penton.
“He walked away basically unscathed. He had a bit of a rash on his elbow, but he was pretty lucky to be alive.”
Out-of-control vehicles flying off the Highway 97 embankment often crash into Burton’s barn, shed, or boat, causing thousands of dollars in damage and insurance claims. (Submitted by Brent Burton)
Since then, that “fluke” has been followed by another three separate crashes in three years — including two serious crashes within 48 hours last week.
In March 2023, another crash in almost the same place as the first one destroyed a boat just replaced by insurance.
Police believe an elderly man suffered a heart attack behind the wheel and died before his car landed near Burton’s garage.
Last Tuesday, a Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) officer chasing a pickup truck appeared to take the curve too fast.
“[The CVSE car] ended up going across the line of traffic and into our yard,” Burton said.
LISTEN | Kaleden crashes piling up for Okanagan family:
Radio West9:01Car crash concerns in Kaleden, B.C.
A Kaleden resident is raising concern about cars crashing into his property off Highway 97. He says four vehicles have ended up in his yard in the last three years. Brent Burton explains more.
The Okanagan resident found the driver moaning in pain, suffering fractures and taken to hospital, and that same boat smashed again.
Remarkably, just 48 hours later on Thursday, the driver of a Honda Pilot lost control after light snowfall and landed only a few metres from an already wrecked shed.
Kaleden, B.C., resident Brent Burton says four vehicles have crashed into his property in the last three years. (Submitted by Brent Burton)
“It’s scary,” Burton says of the series of crashes.
“You know, we hear the crashes and bangs, and we’re like, ‘Oh no, not again’ … it’s to the point right now where we, you know, don’t feel safe in that part of our yard.”
The B.C. Highway Patrol told CBC News there is no evidence of impairment in any of the crashes.
Speed may have been a factor in some, but investigations have not yet confirmed it.
The site of the crashes is just south of Kaleden, B.C., beside a lazy curve of Highway 97 as the speed limit drops from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. (Google Earth)
Burton points to the highway itself, near the intersection of Lakehill Road and Juniper Avenue.
A lazy curve sits up an embankment from his property without any guardrails or warnings, the speed limit rapidly transitioning from 100 km/h to 80 km/h.
“There’s got to be some sort of way of of stopping stuff coming off the highway,” he says.
“I think at this point, something’s got to be done.”
Getting the runaround
Burton has reached out to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation, Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson and Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) director Subrina Monteith for help.
He says the local ministry office and highway crews told him there wasn’t enough room between the embankment slope and curb to put in a barrier.
The curve at Highway 97, near the Burton residence, sees the speed limit transition from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. (Google Maps)
Another issue with the case: jurisdiction.
“Unfortunately, [the] regional district has no funding of roads. We’ve got no jurisdiction over roads,” Monteith told CBC News.
She says local officials are pushing hard for a solution.
“I think we’re in the right direction. The fact that Ministry of Transportation is well aware, the local MLA Donegal Wilson is very aware,” the regional district official said.
“Everybody’s going to be advocating to do something — because, you know, is it going to happen again? Unfortunately, it could.”
On Thursday morning, after inquires from CBC News, the Transportation Ministry issued a statement about the intersection.
“The Ministry of Transportation and Transit is aware of the recent vehicle incidents … and is reviewing this intersection for potential safety improvements,” a spokesperson said.
“In the interim, reflective markers will be installed at this location to enhance visibility and road user safety.”
For Burton, it’s a start.
But he doubts reflective strips alone will do much to help his family get peace and safety.
“Visibility isn’t an issue … at least it’s something,” the Kaleden resident said.
“I don’t think it would have changed the outcome of any of the four vehicles that entered the yard. Hopefully they find it unsafe, and that something should be done.”
