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CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
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JAN. 8, 2014 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
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Fire rips through home in PoCo By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
DAN EBENAL/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Kinsmen Howard Grant helps 10th Coquitlam Scouts Kye and Connor Mills load a tree into the chipper at the Christmas tree chipping Sunday at Coquitlam Town Centre Park. A number of tree chipping events were held around the Tri-Cities over the weekend, marking the end of the holiday season.
A giant plume of smoke could be seen for miles after fire broke out at a home in Port Coquitlam on Monday. Firefighters responded to the blaze on Myrtle Way at around 3:30 p.m. and were still trying to suppress the flames when many people in the neighbourhood were returning home from work. “Obviously, there were a lot of combustibles in the house,” said PoCo Fire Chief Nick Delmonico. “It was going pretty good. There was a lot of smoke.” Because the home sat at the end of a cul-de-sac, firefighters had a difficult time accessing the scene. Many of the houses s i t c l o s e t o g e t h e r, Delmonico said, and it was difficult for trucks to get close enough to the blaze. Eventually, firefighters moved a ladder truck into the area and began attacking the blaze from above, he added. see CHIEF, page 2
Families relieved after Sater found guilty Accused in deadly collision convicted on six counts By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Last Friday’s guilty verdict in the deadly hit-and-run trial of Cory Sater will hopefully cause more people to think twice about getting behind the wheel when they are impaired, said the husband of one of
the victims. D a n Reaveley, whose w i f e Charlene w a s CORY SATER killed along with Lorraine Cruz when they were struck by Sater’s Jeep in 2011, said the judge’s decision to convict the accused of impaired driving and dangerous driving causing death was a relief for the families. “It’s nice to know
there is a little bit of accountability,” he said outside the courtroom after the verdict was read at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster. “The biggest thing for me is setting a precedent for people who jump in the car after they drink.” Brian Reaveley, Dan’s father and Charlene’s father-in-law, also expressed relief at the judge’s decision. There were moments over the course of the trial, he added, when he feared that Sater may not be
convicted. “I was worried about it,” he said. “But we came through. It helps a lot. If he was walking the streets, it would be a problem so this does help a lot.” On the night of the incident, Cruz and her boyfriend, Paulo Calimbahin, had been involved in a minor collision at Lougheed Highway and Pitt River Road in Coquitlam. Charlene, Dan and two friends had witnessed the accident and
were helping Cruz and Calimbahin when the deadly crash occurred. Cruz and Charlene Reaveley were killed almost instantly while Calimbahin was seriously injured, losing his leg in the incident. Last week, Justice James Williams agreed with the Crown’s assertions that Sater had consumed six double rye and Cokes and two Jagerbombs prior to getting behind the wheel. see JUDGE, page 6
TRI-CITY NEWS FILE PHOTOS
Charlene Reaveley, left, and Lorraine Cruz were killed almost instantly when they were struck by Cory Sater’s Jeep in February 2011.