Emergency C-section saves premature baby after highway crash injures mother, kills father
'The fact this baby survived is something you hold on to'
Family say a premature baby boy is doing well after his mother was injured in a fatal northern highway crash that forced the baby to be born via an emergency C-section.
RCMP say a tractor-trailer was travelling eastbound along Highway 16 on Friday night near Moricetown, B.C. when it collided with a moose. The impact sent the animal into the path of an oncoming Dodge pickup truck that was travelling westbound. The subsequent collision forced the truck into a ditch, landing on its roof and trapping the two occupants inside.
Kimberly Hall was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital. Her husband David Hall, 32, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The fact that this baby survived is something you hold on to," said family member Todd Stockner of the boy who now weighs four pounds.
"There's this young life that's emerged out of this tragic event and we all need to support David's wife and this wonderful little child that's come out of all of this," said Stockner.
'...Give his son the best start at life...'
Family and friends have raised more than $30,000 in just a few days through an online fund-raising site.
The page reads: "David never got to meet his son, who looks so much like him, but his large and loving family and his community of friends will make sure he grows up knowing the wonderful man his father was...with this fund we can help give his son the best start at life."
Stockner said David and Kimberly had recently moved to Terrace from the Lower Mainland and were preparing their baby's nursery.
There's this young life that's emerged out of this tragic event ... and we all need to support this wonderful little child- Todd Stockner
David Hall grew up in South Surrey and White Rock and had a career in video and film editing, said Stockner. But Hall trained as a helicopter pilot and moved north to take a dream job with Lakelse Air.
"They were chasing their dreams in the prime of their lives. All their hopes and dreams were to move up north," said Stockner. "It was inspiring for a lot of people."
"People loved him dearly and deeply."
With files from George Baker