sa国际传媒

Skip to content

Aftermath: Recovering after high velocity car crash in Kelowna

Karla Mindel was asleep in the passenger seat when she heard her friend shout sa国际传媒榤eridian!sa国际传媒
12758853_web1_copy_180717-KCN-Karla

sa国际传媒淢eridian!sa国际传媒 was the last thing Karla Mindel heard Lenard Haines say before the car they were traveling in crashed into a cement wall.

Mindel was sleeping in the front seat as the vehicle was speeding down Highway 33 just after 3 a.m. on June 20.

The vehicle crossed into oncoming lanes and struck a cement wall ejecting three of the occupants from the vehicle including Haines and Mindel. The driver and three passengers were taken to Kelowna General Hospital immediately with serious injuries.

Debris from the early morning crash scattered across a one-block radius between Nickel and Kneller roads in Rutland.

In the vehicle was Mindel, Haines, his brother Shane Haines and two dogssa国际传媒攁 puppy that was treated for a broken leg and Jewels, a bull mastiff that went missing. Mindel declined to identify the male driver.

Media reports this week revealed that Lenard Haines died from injuries sustained in the crash, although neither Kelowna RCMP or the Coronersa国际传媒檚 office have confirmed that or anything else about the accident investigation since it happened. The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. is still investigating the incident.

sa国际传媒淚 kind of woke up a bit to the guys talking and saying something about police chasing us, I thought sa国际传媒淵eah, rightsa国际传媒 but then I saw the lights and heard Lenard yell meridian, that was it. Everything went black again, sa国际传媒 Mindel recalled in an interview with the Capital News.

Mindel was sent to the hospital with serious injuries including a broken sternum and road rash sa国际传媒渁ll over my body.sa国际传媒

While in the hospital, Mindel was distraught because her dog, Jewels, had been ejected from the car and had not yet been found.

She was so distressed that the nurses allowed her to leave with a friend for a few hours to look for Jewels after she had stabilized from her injuries.

sa国际传媒淚 was so worried about her when I woke up in the hospital, no one knew there was another dog in the car. I didnsa国际传媒檛 know where she was. I just sat there and cried for the first two days.sa国际传媒

Determined to find her, Mindel set out barefoot, in her hospital gown attached to her IV, calling for Jewels, sa国际传媒渟creaming her name,sa国际传媒 as she recalled.

sa国际传媒淚 went to the crash sitesa国际传媒攊t was heart breaking, I was really overwhelmed. I sat on that wall where we hit talking to Lenard, telling him how much I miss him and I said goodbye.sa国际传媒

Jewels was found by Stacey Hubbard who chased the dog down after seeing her get clipped by a car.

Hubbard took Jewels to Pawsitive Veterinary Care where she was treated for road rash on her face and the cuts on her paws from running on the hot cement.

sa国际传媒淪he was running so fast and could hardly run properly, her back legs looked as if they were about to give out any minute,sa国际传媒 said Hubbard, who chased her despite having a broken ankle herself. sa国际传媒淭hose two have a guardian angel for sure. They are lucky to be alive.sa国际传媒

sa国际传媒淚 have never been in this kind of situation before, I have had friends pass away, but nothing like this,sa国际传媒 Mindel added. sa国际传媒淎ll three of us were ejected from the car.sa国际传媒

The three were visiting Kelowna from Williams Lake to celebrate Fathersa国际传媒檚 Day with Shane Hainessa国际传媒 daughter.

sa国际传媒淚t has been one of the worst weeks of my life,sa国际传媒 Mindel said. sa国际传媒淚 have known him for 19 years, people are blaming me, saying it was my fault because it was my car.

sa国际传媒淎 lot of rumours have been going around that I was the driver, but I wasnsa国际传媒檛, I was asleep. When someone is hurting they want to blame somebody, it has put me into quite a depression.sa国际传媒

Mindel, who attended Hainessa国际传媒 funeral and the wake the night before, says his mother and brother were happy to see her but she had to leave because of the whispers.

sa国际传媒淭hey were saying I killed him, I had to go sit in the car and cry.sa国际传媒

Before attending the funeral, Mindel was in front of the mirror styling her hair while her family was waiting when she says she felt Lenardsa国际传媒檚 presence.

sa国际传媒淚 felt his breath on my back, and I heard Lenardsa国际传媒檚 voice, he said my name. It sent chills down my spine.sa国际传媒

Mindelsa国际传媒檚 brother started a page to help pay for her medical bills and support their parents who had to stay in Kelowna to be by her side.

So far $200 has been raised toward the goal of $10,000. Mindel has borrowed money from friends to help keep the power on at the family home in Williams lake, since her father is now 75 and can no longer work leaving her mother to support the family as a careworker.

sa国际传媒淭he cable and hydro was cut off the other week, usually I help her out but itsa国际传媒檚 just her right now. I feel so bad that I cansa国际传媒檛 help her.sa国际传媒

According to the gofundme page, Mindel has decided that any funds raised sa国际传媒渄eemed extrasa国际传媒 and not necessary for her and Jewelssa国际传媒 recovery will be turned over to the Hainessa国际传媒 family to help with funeral costs.

Mindel is still recovering at home with Jewels and will see her daughter, Jenny, for the first time since the incident to celebrate her birthday in the park together.

To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com
.



sydney.morton@kelownacapnews.com

Like us on and follow us on .





(or

sa国际传媒

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }