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FEBRUARY 28, 2020 | Volume 33 No. 18
FRIDAY
BACK IN BARGAINING
The teachers’ union and its employer have returned to the negotiating table in a bid to reach agreement on a new contract A18
FILM FESTIVAL
All you need to know about the annual March event A29
GOLDEN PLATE AWARDS
Turn to pages A24 and A25 to find out what eateries and which staff have been cited as best in town by KTW readers
STORMY NIGHTS
City’s junior B hockey team begins playoff series this weekend A34
WEEKEND WEATHER:
Sun, clouds and warmth High 12 C Low -2 C
Fundraiser for mom who lost family in crash MIKE COCHLIN AND SONS LIAM AND QUINN WERE TRAVELLING ON HIGHWAY 5A NEAR STUMP LAKE LAST SUNDAY WHEN THEIR VEHICLE LEFT THE ROAD. ALL THREE DIED AS A RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
The victims of a single-vehicle crash south of Kamloops last weekend — in which a father and two sons were killed — were from southern Alberta. The deaths of Mike Cochlin, 47, and sons Liam, 8, and Quinn, 5, have devastasted the family and friends, with an online fundraising initiative created to help mom Erin Cochlin. Mike and his sons were travelling northbound on Highway 5A near Stump Lake when their vehicle left the road and plunged down an embankment. Emergency crews were called to a stretch of the highway 30 kilometres south of Kamloops at about 5:45 p.m., when they found the Alberta family’s vehicle heavily damaged down a steep embankment. Mike was pronounced dead at the scene, while Liam, 8, and Quinn, 5, were rushed to Royal Inland Hospital, where Liam later died. Quinn was transferred to B.C.
Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and was initially reported to be in grave condition. However, Amy Davies, a family friend who has started an online fundraiser for Erin Cochlin, has updated the situation with a post on the GoFundMe.com page. “Thank you for the outpouring of love and support towards the Cochlin family,” Davies wrote on Wednesday night. “Quinn will be donating his heart, liver and kidneys tonight. He is a hero. “The family appreciates, and is thankful for, all of the love and offers of support. In the near future there will be a time to celebrate the lives of Mike, Liam and Quinn.” Davies told KTW Mike was a on a special boys’ road trip with Quinn and Liam and was on his way home when tragedy struck. The fundraiser was created on Tuesday night and had raised more than $71,000 toward a $100,000 goal as of Thursday afternoon. The fundraiser can be found
GRANDIR EN FRANÇAIS
Mike and Erin Cochlin, with sons Liam and Quinn. The family photo is posted at gofundme.com as part of a campaign to raise money to provide immediate and long term help for Erin. COCHLIN FAMILY PHOTO
by going online to gofundme.com and searching “Cochlin Family Support Fund.” Police issued a press release on Monday morning stating that each of the three occupants of the
vehicle had died, then sent out a correction by email on Tuesday afternoon, saying one of the boys was alive, but in grave condition in a Vancouver hospital. Snow was falling in the
Kamloops area on Sunday night, but it’s not yet known whether weather played a role in the crash. Nevertheless, police said the incident should serve as a reminder to drive safe.
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