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Fruitvale woman charged with impaired driving in 2019 crash that killed 2 teens

A 15-year-old boy and 18-year-old woman, both from Fruitvale, died in the crash that sent the vehicle into the river
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RCMP pictured at a motor vehicle incident during snowy conditions. (Phil McLachlan - Black Press Media)

Impaired driving charges have been laid against a Fruitvale woman in connection to a fatal crash last year near the Waneta Dam which left two teenage siblings dead, according to a Nov. 24 RCMP media release.

According to police, a woman and three teenagers were driving in a Volkswagen Beetle on March 17, 2019, when the car was driven off the road at a curve before going down a steep embankment and into the Pend Oreille River.

The driver, as well as a 15-year-old girl from Warfield, managed to get out of the submerged vehicle and make it to the surface.

READ MORE: Bodies recovered from Pend d’Oreille River crash

A 15-year-old boy and 18-year-old woman, both from Fruitvale, did not return to the surface. They were later recovered by RCMP Underwater Recovery Team members.

Tessa Anderson, also of Fruitvale, was charged with several provincial driving related offences on March of this year. She is now accused of two counts of driving while impaired causing death and one count of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

Earlier, this story erroneously stated four teenagers were in the car alongside the driver. There were four people in the vehicle, police have confirmed.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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