Car show honours teen killed by impaired driver
Brandon Thomas took great pride in his ride. Or, more accurately, rides.
And he’d have loved the Show Your Ride for Brandon car show — an event organized in his memory, which also conveys a wider message about impaired driving.
“His was a young life taken too early,” says Kalin Glenn, spokesperson for the Show Your Ride for Brandon car show that will take place Sunday at Stampede Park.
Thomas was a 17-year-old student in the registered auto mechanic apprenticeship program at Cochrane High School when he was killed in a head-on collision. It was Dec. 6, 2012.
Thomas was driving his Subaru Impreza WRX STI home from work on Highway 22 when an impaired driver hit him.
As a youngster, Thomas spent hours in the garage of a neighbourhood mechanic.
There, he learned how to handle a wrench and a screwdriver and gained insight into internal combustion engines and other automotive systems. His mother, Kim Thomas, says his passion for cars and trucks was ignited there.
At 13, Thomas got his first job and earned enough money to buy a 1984 Toyota 4Runner. Two other vehicles followed, including a BMW and a Jeep. And, his fourth vehicle was the Subaru. All four were his prize possessions.
It was that passion for wheels that encouraged Thomas’s mother Kim and sister Kayla to co-found, in 2014, the first Show Your Ride for Brandon car show.
“There were 150 cars registered for that show and shine,” Glenn says. “In 2018, there were 743.”
That kind of turnout has made it the largest car show in Calgary and organizers are hoping for more vehicles in 2019. Funds raised go toward a SAIT automotive mechanic endowment fund in Thomas’s name and other initiatives that have included MADD and Cochrane High School.
Thomas’s first vehicle, his 1984 Toyota 4Runner, has been a feature truck at every Show Your Ride for Brandon event.
Painted black with blue fenders, the recognizable Toyota is covered in messages to Thomas and his family. Paint pens are left beside the truck, and the public is encouraged to sign the 4Runner.
But Glenn says the Toyota could have been a no-show after thieves stole the truck from Kim’s Cochrane driveway the morning of June 3.
“They broke in, broke the ignition pin and started it with a screwdriver and drove off,” Glenn says.
It wasn’t until 6 a.m. that Kim realized the truck was gone.
A social media blast spread word about the theft, and when Glenn learned about it, he joined the search party.
Around 8 a.m., he spotted the Toyota travelling east on Stoney Trail. Glenn managed to follow it and alert the RCMP to its whereabouts.
“I kept my distance, but I could tell it was running poorly,” Glenn says. “The thief eventually pulled into the Gas Plus at Balzac and abandoned the Toyota, and I watched him get arrested.”
When Show Your Ride for Brandon gets underway on Sunday, the Toyota will be on display — having received some modifications that should reflect Thomas’s ultimate vision for the truck.
All types of rides are encouraged to attend Show Your Ride for Brandon, from motorcycles to cars to trucks, regardless of age or style.
To show your ride, there is a $20 donation. Show vehicles enter the park at 12 Avenue and Olympic Way S.E. starting at 7 a.m.; registration closes at noon.
Vehicles will be displayed on lots 25 A and B; these are in the far southeast corner of the park.
Spectators are welcome free of charge beginning at 10 a.m., but Stampede parking rates apply.
A trolley will be available to take spectators to the show and shine.