From her Deep Creek Road home, Joy de Vos could hear the moment a nightmare came very close to reality.
That moment – at 7:22 a.m. on Saturday, May 31 – was a collision involving Joy and Kevin de Vos' daughter, which occurred near their home and farm market on Highway 97B at the Deep Creek Road intersection.
Joy said her daughter was stationary in the northbound lane of 97B, turning signal on, waiting for oncoming traffic to pass so she could turn left onto Deep Creek Road, when she was rear-ended by a northbound vehicle and pushed into oncoming traffic. She was hit by two vehicles within seconds, said Joy, the one that rear ended her and one in southbound lane.
Joy's daughter's vehicle was destroyed; "fortunately, there was no damage to the driver’s door.
"Only divine intervention provided for her survival!" said Joy, noting it will be a long time before her family recovers from the traumatic event.
"I can not imagine how the occupants of the SUV in the oncoming lane felt, travelling with her young son on the way to a baseball game," said Joy. "Their brand-new vehicle was also destroyed. Did that young boy have a chance to play with his team?"
After sharing what happened on social media, the de Vos family received an outpouring of well-wishes and support, along with comments from others like them who have, in the past, shared their concerns over the safety of the 97B/Deep Creek Road intersection with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT).
In a letter to the ministry, local government officials and others, Joy shares how she contacted the ministry about the intersection in October 2024.
"I asked if there would be a way to add an extra sign with flashing lights (portable sign) warning of the blind left turn south of the 97B/Deep Creek Road intersection, and urging traffic to proceed with caution," said Joy. "I was told… that this was not necessary, that this intersection was not a danger and that no one will be speeding excessively! I asked… how he would feel when one of my kids gets hit at the intersection that was 'not dangerous?'
"Guess what… my daughter almost died, and this is not something I, nor anyone else, should take lightly!"
Joy adds with the summer traffic exacerbated by closures of the Bruhn Bridge, "it would be logical to address the dangerous corner and create more visibility for the northbound traffic to see Hwy. 97B/Deep Creek Road intersection."
"I ask that the ministry please grade the embankment and place a retaining wall on the east side of Hwy. 97B to permit a dedicated lane for the thru-traffic that is not turning left," said Joy.
"In the interim, please put a warning sign with flashing lights before the northbound traffic arrives at the 97B/Deep Creek Road intersection as soon as possible. I do not need a study to explain the obvious. Highway 97B is now the 'ALT' Trans-Canada Highway."
Included with Joy's letter are numerous messages of support from others, some who have contacted the ministry in the past about intersection.
"I have suggested that a left turn lane off Hwy. 97B to Deep Creek Road be made several times over the past years. The last time I was told that there was not enough traffic to warrant a left turn line," offered Ida Fankhauser. "How much more traffic, accidents and near misses does it need to make a left turn lane off Hwy 97B onto Deep Creek Road?"
"I have had near misses as have other drivers; this intersection is quite busy as Deep Creek Road is a very popular route to Armstrong from Salmon Arm," wrote Maryanne Luttmerding, noting many large vehicles including milk trucks, school buses, feed delivery trucks, gravel trucks, farm vehicles and implements, use the intersection daily. "The best solution would be a left turn lane but at the very least the bank below the fire hall could be cut away to provide visibility for vehicles heading north."
Luttmerding also shared past responses from the ministry. In one, from September 2024, road area manager Mike Scott says several steps were being taken to improve 97A/97B during the construction of the new Bruhn Bridge, adding "at this time, no changes were warranted at this intersection."
"However, I will pass your concern and suggestion to our Traffic Engineers for them to review," said Scott.
In a June 6, 2025 letter, Lorne Hunter, past president of the Deep Creek Farmers Institute, said the institute wrote the ministry four years ago about getting a left-turn lane put in, and that the intersection has long been a concern for the community.
"Turning left onto Deep Creek Rd. from 97B is a dangerous endeavour at the best of times," wrote Hunter. "Traffic travelling at 100kph, turning left on a blind corner and now the added pressure of the detour traffic… added volume to a road that was not constructed for this added volume and the impatience of the travelling public… have only added to the seriousness of our previous request for improvements at this intersection."
The Observer has contacted the Ministry of Transportation and Transit and will provide more information as it comes available.
