Highway 18 upgrades urged after woman dies in crash involving elk

Victim’s daughter seeks improvements; petition calls for wildlife fencing along route

A 32-year-old Lake Cowichan woman whose mother was killed last week in a vehicle crash involving an elk is calling on the B.C. government for safety upgrades on Highway 18.

Maureen Yvonne Victoria Cowles-Curtis, 63, died the evening of Nov. 19 after an oncoming vehicle driven by a 33-year-old Duncan man hit an elk. The animal hit his windshield, temporarily blocking his view, causing his vehicle to collide with an SUV driven by Cowles-Curtis, her family said.

Daughter Meaghan Briault said she was told by the coroner that her mother likely had a heart attack and died at the scene. “They think the shock of it triggered a heart attack.”

Cowles-Curtis’s passenger, Pam Carter, 62, was seriously injured, suffering a fractured clavicle, sternum, ribs, wrist, leg and ankle, along with internal injuries, abrasions and bruising. Carter remains in the intensive care unit at Victoria General Hospital. The pair had been headed toward Lake Cowichan.

North Cowichan-Duncan RCMP continue to investigate the crash.

At 7 a.m. the next day, less than 12 hours after the first crash, a vehicle driven by a 32-year-old man also struck an elk near Lake Cowichan. The driver’s car was destroyed — the windshield broken and the roof partially ripped off, said B.C. Conservation officer Scott Norris.

Norris said last week that elk encounters on the highway, which connects the north end of Duncan with Lake Cowichan and has a

Maureen Yvonne Victoria Cowles-Curtis, 63, died on Nov. 19 after a collision involving another vehicle and an elk. posted speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour, occur almost every month. Often, they happen at night, and residents say many of the animals cross the highway during mating season.

The lower Cowichan Valley is home to about 160 Roosevelt elk, with a typical bull elk weighing in at 500 to 700 pounds, slightly less than a moose, both of which are in the deer family. They commonly feed in highway ditches.

A petition posted by Bonnie Jones on change.org (search for “Hwy 18 needs wildlife fencing”) calls for immediate wildlife fencing on Highway 18. The petition is directed at B.C. Attorney General David Eby, Insurance Corp. of B.C., Transportation Minister Claire Trevena and the RCMP.

“Encounters with large wildlife are a daily occurrence on this treacherous stretch of highway,” says the petition, which has attracted more than 6,200 signatures.

“This has gone on for too long. How many more fatalities does there need to be,” it says. “We ask you to fix this immediately before more loved ones are lost.”

Briault supports the petition, and says she wants to hear from the province and transportation experts about measures to limit human-wildlife crashes used in other wildlife corridors across Canada.

“As far as I can tell, the only thing that has prevented safety improvements on that stretch of road is the monetary cost, and I would really like the conversation to shift from the monetary cost to the human cost,” said Briault.

“That’s something that’s really been giving me purpose and helping with the first week adjusting to life without my mom.”

A statement from the Transportation Ministry said that while the ministry has been investigating the potential for wildlifeexclusion fencing for elk along Highway 18, “the area is bordered by private lands and crossing structures, which makes this option problematic.”

“Ministry staff are working with local stakeholders to identify the highest crossing sites in the area, and are looking at alternative interim measures, such as increased brush clearing at these elk-crossing locations,” the statement said.

Wildlife warning signs are posted along Highway 18 and Youbou Road, the ministry said.

Cameras also track wildlife movements in the area, with four installed within the Highway 18 right-of-way. The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development tracks herds in the area, as well. “With news of the most recent collisions in the area, the ministry is looking at what additional measures can be taken to prevent collisions with wildlife,” says the Transportation Ministry statement.

Briault said wildlife fencing might be only one solution in a broader effort to minimize human-wildlife conflict, along with measures such as a wildlife overpass, cattle gates for private landowners, lights, tagging the elk, or reduced speed limits during mating season, all of which are used in other parts of the country.

“It’s about finding a better way for us to live holistically with animals so that we’re not endangering them and they’re not endangering us,” said Briault.

Cowles-Curtis was a volunteer for many organizations — including the Liberal Party of Canada, a crisis line and a group for adult children of alcoholics — and would appreciate her only daughter turning her grief into action for others, said Briault.

“I think it would mean a lot to her if we could muster some of her get-up-and-go and make a change.”

A small private service will be held for Cowles-Curtis in midDecember, said Briault.