As seen in Kamloops Now by John Luke Kieper, 17th September 2019.
Friends and family of Bryant Keck confirmed that the teenage missionary has passed away from injuries he suffered as a result of a serious car crash on BC Hwy 5 North on Friday.
Keck was serving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when the crash occurred. A GoFundMe has been created for the Keck family after this tragedy. There has been no update on Dallin Thompson who was also critically hurt in the crash.
The two men who were involved in a Friday crash on BC Hwy 5 North have been identified as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
According to a news release from the church, 19-year-olds Bryant Keck and Dallin Thompson are both in critical condition after the crash near the Old Highway 5 Junction. The crash occurred when the missionaries’ SUV left an intersection and collided with an oncoming pickup truck.
Keck is originally from Sanford, Colorado, though his Facebook states he was living in Kamloops. Thompson came on his Canada Vancouver Mission from Sahuarita, Arizona.
“The condition of the occupants of the truck is unknown, and we pray for their well-being,” said Church spokesperson Daniel Woodruff. “We also pray for both missionaries and their families, and we ask for the faith and prayers of others on their behalf as they navigate the difficult days ahead.”
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About the BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society
‘In Their Name’ is the campaign of ‘The BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society’ – a BC registered non-profit organization comprised of volunteer families who have lost a loved one to wrongful death in BC and were denied access to justice. In response to the biggest human rights issue facing the province today, our goal is to modernize British Columbia’s antiquated wrongful death legislation, which predates confederation (1846). Under current legislation, the value of a human life is measured only by the deceased’s future lost income, so long as they had dependents.
As a result of the province’s antiquated law, access to justice has been denied to the families of the wrongfully killed who do not meet this discriminatory criteria. This has affected especially vulnerable groups, namely children, seniors, the disabled, and anyone without dependents when they are killed by the negligent or intentional acts of another.
BC is presently the last of all the provinces, yet to have undertaken this critical legislative modernization to allow for dignity, value, and protections for all its citizens under the law.
When it’s ‘free’ to kill in BC, wrongdoers are not held accountable. This lack of general deterrence holds the province back in terms of incentivizing innovation of safety measures and protocols to prevent wrongful deaths in the first place.
Here’s How You Can Get Involved…
The Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, is responsible for the modernization of BC’s wrongful death laws. Our Society provided David Eby with the drafted ‘Wrongful Death Accountability Act’ when he was acting as the Attorney General for British Columbia for 6 years between 2017-2022. The new Attorney General, Niki Sharma, also shares responsibility as she is the Minister responsible for the ‘Family Compensation Act’ – the current guiding piece of legislation that the civil courts must follow in cases of wrongful death. Minister Sharma receives feedback from the regional ‘Members of the Legislative Assembly’ (MLAs) and follows orders from the Premier, David Eby, who is ultimately responsible for modernization.
Reform is presently at a standstill, as the BC NDP government does not presently view access to justice for the surviving family members of the wrongfully killed as a priority in this province. This is despite the fact that the families behind our Society have been fighting for modernization for over two decades. And despite the fact that all other provinces, including the Yukon, have already modernized in most cases long ago.
The only way to move this forward is by creating massive public awareness and outcry for legislative modernization. Only under the scrutiny of the public and the media will our politicians be forced to take this necessary, and long overdue action.
How many more people will need to die from the same preventable wrongful actions before our politicians will do their job?
#1 Kindly consider supporting the public awareness advertising efforts of our volunteer led Society by Donating Now »
‘In Their Name’ is the campaign of ‘The BC Wrongful Death Law Reform Society’ – a BC registered non-profit organization comprised of volunteer families who have lost a loved one to wrongful death in BC and were denied access to justice. In response to the biggest human rights issue facing the province today, our goal is to modernize British Columbia’s antiquated wrongful death legislation, which predates confederation (1846). Under current legislation, the value of a human life is measured only by the deceased’s future lost income, so long as they had dependents.