While the fallout from a serious weekend collision continues, the family and friends of the young woman killed in the crash is still dealing with their tragic loss.
On Sunday, June 30, Clare Patershuk, 26, was driving back to Edmonton from Jasper with her 25-year-old boyfriend when the car she was driving collided head-on with a pickup truck that was heading in the wrong direction on Highway 16, near Niton Junction at about 9 p.m.
Patershuk was pronounced dead at the scene, her boyfriend was rushed to hospital in Edmonton with non-life threatening injuries – where he remains.
For the family of the young woman, the loss is devastating.
“She was really special, and it’s so sad that all of us, trust me, have been robbed,” Peter Patershuk, Clare’s father, said.
For her those who worked with her – Patershuk worked as a counselor at the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton – many are still in disbelief.
“The senselessness of this tragedy, it’s just beyond belief,” Karen Smith with the Sexual Assault Centre said.
Smith described Clare as a talented young therapist, who worked with adult survivors of sexual assault – and used her own love of horses to help her clients.
“The thing that she believed was that people who needed help should get it no matter what their circumstance,” Matt Patershuk, Clare’s brother, said. “She helped a lot of people that way within her family, and out.
“It’s a real shame she won’t be able to do that anymore.”
As for the other vehicle involved in the crash, RCMP said the driver of the truck fled the scene on foot, but police tracked him down and arrested him a short later.
The 29-year-old Manitoba man is facing a charge of impaired driving causing death.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
