Fruitvale woman charged with impaired driving after deaths of two teens
By Trail Champion
On Nov. 19, additional charges were sworn in relation to a 2019 fatal crash that took place on March 17, 2019, near the Waneta Dam, according to West Kootenay Traffic Services Sgt. Chad Badry.
“On Sunday, March 17, 2019, at approximately 4:12 pm, members of the Trail and Greater District RCMP along with West Kootenay Traffic Services attended to a single vehicle crash on Seven Mile Dam Road near Trail. A Volkswagon Beetle driven by a female from Salmo, BC, drove off the road at a curve, went down a steep embankment, and into the Pend Oreille River. The driver and front passenger, a 15 year old female from Warfield, managed to get out of the submerged vehicle and to the surface, but two other occupants did not surface. A 15 year old male and 18 year old female both from Fruitvale were missing and presumed deceased.
“On March 19, 2019, the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team was successful in locating the vehicle. Tragically, both missing teens were located deceased. The conditions were difficult and the recovery operation took a significant amount of time to complete. The cooperation of the Dam authority, BC Hydro helped the operation in lowering the water level. The BC Coroners Service has been notified and will also be investigating.
“Tessa Anderson of Fruitvale was charged on March 13, 2020, with several provincial driving related offences. On November 19, 2020, Crown Counsel approved two counts of Impaired Driving Causing Death and one count of Impaired Driving Causing Bodily Harm under the Criminal Code. The matter is now before the courts.”
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