Crash victim “died knowing she was loved”

Keith Anderson/ The Daily News

Kamloops Family Resource Society-Family Tree Family Centre program co-ordinator Heather Cameron holds a photo of deceased woman Leah Cardinal, who was killed Tuesday evening in a crash outside the centre on West Victoria Street.

A mother of five with a history of drug and alcohol addiction died surrounded by friends from the support group she had belonged to for the last four years.

“It’s just total coincidence that it happened right outside of here,” said Heather Cameron, program co-ordinator for Mothers for Recovery.

Leah Cardinal, 36, was killed Tuesday night when the Plymouth Reliant she was driving crossed the centre line on the 200 block of West Victoria Street and collided with a westbound Ford F350.

Cameron and other members of Mothers for Recovery were in the middle of a support meeting at the Family Tree Family Centre nearby. The women heard the collision at about 7:20 p.m. and rushed outside to investigate.

They were devastated when they recognized Cardinal inside the mangled car. A few people screamed. Everyone was shocked, said Cameron.

Police and firefighters arrived minutes later. Cardinal had to be pried from the wreckage. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Royal Inland Hospital.

Cameron believes it was, in a way, fortunate that Cardinal’s friends were nearby.

“She had all of us around her when she passed on,” said Cameron. “She knows she was loved.”

While the woman erected a cross outside the family centre Wednesday in memory of Cardinal, RCMP continued their investigation into the crash.

Const. Cheryl Bush said it’s too early to know what caused Cardinal’s vehicle to swerve into oncoming traffic.

The coroner’s service will perform a toxicology test to determine if drugs or alcohol played a part. A mechanical inspection will also be done on the car, she said.

“The RCMP don’t have anything to go on at this point,” said Bush.

A 41-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were in the Ford. Bush said they were treated at RIH for minor injuries.

Cardinal joined Mothers for Recovery, a support group for moms struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, in 2005. She spent almost 20 years battling her addictions and supporting herself through prostitution.

But Cardinal was determined to get off the streets. She cleaned up while she was pregnant with her fifth child, a baby boy, for the court to grant her custody, said Cameron.

Cardinal also had contact with her four-year-old daughter, who lives in Kamloops. She visited the girl often and brought her daughter home on weekends.

“She was an excellent mom,” Cameron said. “Leah did the best she’s ever done in her whole life this last year.”

Unfortunately, Cardinal relapsed two weeks ago and voluntarily turned her baby over the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Cameron said.

Cameron does not know where Cardinal was headed when the accident happened. She said Cardinal had planned to go into rehab and get clean again.

A celebration of life takes place at the New Life Mission on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

jhewlett@kamloopsnews.ca

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