The family of the Dundee-born woman killed in an alleged-hit-and-run incident that has shocked Canada are confident the police inquiry is making progress.
More witnesses have come forward to tell the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of circumstances surrounding the tragedy that claimed the lives of 30-year-old Charlene Reaveley and the woman she had gone to help at a junction in a suburb of Vancouver.
Mrs Reaveley, a mother-of-four, and 26-year-old Lorraine Cruz, were standing at the roadside late at night on February 19 after Ms Cruz’s vehicle had crashed when they were hit by a passing Jeep Grand Cherokee that didn’t stop. A 37-year-old man was later taken into police custody and is facing several charges in connection with the double deaths in Vancouver.
The police investigation did not get off to a good start, however. Mrs Reaveley’s uncle, Graham Ogilvie, an officer with Tayside Police who has just returned from Vancouver where he attended his niece’s funeral, said, “At first there were claims that other vehicles had stopped after the first crash and may also have been there when Charlene and the other woman were struck.
“Then the police admitted that some witnesses they spoke to at the scene didn’t actually give them formal statements or contact details where they could be reached and interviewed later.”
When approached by The Courier, Sergeant Peter Thiessen, spokesperson for the RCMP’s Lower Mainland District Regional Police Service, said, “Police investigators who were first on the scene were all impacted by this senseless crash that killed two innocent women. Investigators are dedicated to ensuring that all evidence is uncovered and obtained.”
Mr Ogilvie said his niece’s funeral was an extremely moving occasion and that an estimated 400 mourners paid their respects.
He continued, “Charlene was involved in so many things she was well-known in the neighbourhood as a young mother, was involved in fitness classes and other activities.”
The tragedy has left a chasm in the lives of the whole family, and especially that of Mrs Reaveley’s husband, Dan, and their four young children.
To support the family, a concert in Port Coquitlam on Friday raised 42,000 Canadian dollars (£26,900) for their welfare, while the Royal Bank of Canada has opened a fund in Mr Reaveley’s name, to which people are welcome to contribute.
The deaths of Mrs Reaveley and Ms Cruz have shocked the whole of Canada, with the country’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, being moved to express his condolences to Mrs Reaveley’s and Ms Cruz’s families. He said he is open to reviewing the law and to impose tougher sentences on hit-and-run drivers.
The Ogilvies are originally from Fintry. Mrs Reaveley’s father, Colin, worked in the Robb Caledon shipyard before going to sea as an engineer. The family later moved south so that Mrs Reaveley’s father could take a job in the naval dockyard in Portsmouth. The family emigrated to Canada when Mrs Reaveley was four.
Mrs Reaveley’s death is not the only road accident tragedy the family have suffered. On Christmas Eve 1995 Brian Ogilvie Colin and Graham’s brother died in a motor cycle accident on the Dundee-Forfar road.
A Facebook page set up in memory of Mrs Reaveley already has over 1600 members.