“We need to do better.”
Kelowna mother Paule Seeger is speaking out after hearing the news of three youths being intentionally run down by a vehicle in Abbotsford on Valentine’s Day.
Officers were called to a neighbourhood on Wednesday and found two teens who said a driver intentionally struck them after “a disturbance.”
The Abbotsford youth had minor injuries and were taken to hospital, while the driver remained at the scene and was placed in custody.
The two teenagers survived the attack in Abbotsford with minor injuries, but Seeger’s son Tristan died following a similar event in Kelowna’s Rutland community.
READ MORE: Two pedestrians ‘intentionally’ struck in Abbotsford: APD
On Oct. 21, 2023, just four months ago, 15-year-old Tristan and some of his peers were reportedly chased down by a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was believed to be reacting to an earlier incident involving bear spray. Tristan was struck before the vehicle fled the scene, and although two individuals were arrested in the days following, they were both released without charges. The death is being investigated as a homicide.
“People are snapping,” Seeger said, noting that vehicles are being weaponized when people reach their boiling point.
Seeger also commented on the ridiculousness of needing to have the conversation that you can’t just run people down with your car because you’re angry.
“There’s not ever a time that is justified,” Seeger said.
Seeger doesn’t doubt that people see the lack of information and action from the RCMP on her son’s homicide and feel they may want to take matters into their own hands. She added that there are people out there who feel Tristan deserved what happened.
“Tristan’s death was provincial, I believe it actually made some national news. Everyone was watching that and everyone was watching to see what the consequences were, and it’s been radio silence. You cannot tell me that that doesn’t empower the fringe.”
When it comes to youth, Seeger said adults are failing to lead by example. She said we all have bad days and rage-filled moments, but retaliation is not the answer.
These teens are not bad kids, Seeger explained, but when adults are chasing kids down in vehicles, “it’s no wonder youth don’t trust or respect adults.” And, when kids watch their friend die after being hit by a car and there have yet to be consequences for the driver, she said it breaks the youths’ trust in the law.
“It’s our fault as adults,” Seeger stated.
As far as how Seeger is coping with the loss of her son, she said it’s his friends who check in and share memories that keep her going.
Seeger added the teens have respected her request to leave the matter in the hands of the law, no matter how much they lose faith. She has plans to contact the city to have a permanent memorial bench installed, at a site near where Tristan was hit by the vehicle.
Kelowna RCMP said there are no updates to share with the public as the investigation into Tristan’s death continues.
~With files from The Canadian Press
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