Whistler cycling community mourns 2 men killed by car
Driver allegedly impaired; passenger dies in crash
PEMBERTON — The two men killed by an alleged drunk driver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway this weekend were both fathers and key figures in the Whistler cycling community.
Friends and the B.C. coroners service have confirmed that Ross Chafe and Kelly Blunden died Sunday afternoon after a car plowed into a group of cyclists out for a weekend ride, about 60 kilometres northeast of Whistler. A passenger in the vehicle, identified as 52-year-old Paul Pierre Jr., was also killed in the crash on the Duffey Lake Road.
“It’s going to be a shock to the cycling community all over the Sea-to-Sky Highway,” said Gary Baker, vice-president of the Whistler Cycling Club.
“You can do everything right, but if someone else drinks and drives, it could happen to anybody.”
The cyclists were struck head-on when the vehicle crossed the centre line of the highway.
Chafe had young children and travelled frequently for his work in business development for a flag company. Blunden’s children are young adults. He worked in information technology for the municipality of Whistler. “It is definitely a big blow,” Baker said. Both men were keen cyclists and very active in the club. Chafe was instrumental in securing non-profit status for the group, according to Baker. Blunden maintained the club’s website and had insti- tuted a beginners’ road ride that stressed safety for novice riders.
In lieu of the club’s usual Tuesday night ride today, a grief counsellor will speak to members about their loss.
A third cyclist was riding slightly behind Blunden and Chafe when they were struck. Baker said the three men had just finished a steep 14-kilometre climb east of Mount Currie and were coasting down the winding road when the collision happened.
“I could hardly sleep all night, so I imagine he would be just devastated,” Baker said of the surviving cyclist.
Initial reports suggested that the third man was also struck, but RCMP Sgt. Rob Knapton said Monday that was incorrect and the cyclist was uninjured in the collision.
The driver of the car was airlifted to hospital in Vancouver. His condition is unknown.
Police are investigating impaired driving as a “probable cause” of the crash, Knapton said, but officers will wait until lab analyses are complete before deciding whether to lay charges.
The area where the collision happened has poor-to-nonexistent cellphone coverage, according to Knapton, and a witness had to drive away from the scene in order to call 911.
“It makes it more problematic for us to deal with accidents there,” he said.
But he added that it’s unlikely emergency workers would have been able to save the victims’ lives if they had been immediately alerted to the accident.