Three people were killed after a man sped the wrong way down Highway 10 Saturday morning and slammed into an oncoming vehicle.
One woman survived the collision and was airlifted to hospital, but the man and two people in the other vehicle are dead.
Two Nanaimo families are grieving the loss this week. Fifty-two-year-old Jovan Salapurna and 21-year-old Jarrett Swackhamer were pronounced dead at the scene after a speeding Chevy Cavalier travelling the wrong way on Highway 10 slammed into their Nissan Pathfinder.
Swackhamer’s parents describe their youngest son as wise beyond his years.
“He was the greatest guy I’ve ever met,” Jarrett’s mother, Bonnie told CTV News. “He was so full of life, so big. He was way beyond his years.”
Swackhamer’s girlfriend, Mikaela, was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Police received a call at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday that a man was driving erratically westbound on Highway 10, just west of King George Boulevard.
The car collided with another at 136 Street and Highway 10. Police believe speed was a factor, but haven’t determined whether drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.
Police say the driver heading the wrong way was from the Lower Mainland.
~with files from CTV News