British Columbia

Marie-Pier Champagne's death prompts calls for barriers on Highway 99

The death of a 32-year Whistler B.C., woman has renewed calls for safety barriers to be installed on Highway 99 along the stretch that runs through Lions Bay.

Champagne was one of 3 people involved in a head-on collision on Sunday

Whistler resident Marie-Pier Champagne, 32, died in hospital two days after she was in a collision on the Sea-to-Sky Highway. (Instagram)

The death of a 32-year Whistler B.C., woman has renewed calls for safety barriers to be installed on a stretch of Highway 99 that runs through Lions Bay.

Marie-Pier Champagne was riding in the passenger seat of a Honda Civic on Sunday, when the driver lost control after passing a black pick-up truck.

Commuters like Ross Dixon, who shot this photo from his vehicle, waited in line on Highway 99 in rainy conditions as the roadway was closed. (Ross Dixon/Twitter)

The car flipped over the median and collided head-on with an oncoming Nissan Sentra. 

Champagne and the 32-year-old driver were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The B.C. Coroners Service said Champagne died two days later.

Her death has prompted her friends to sign a petition on change.org calling for more safety barriers on that stretch of highway.

"She was truly a beautiful soul who touched friends, colleagues and visitors with her soft, pleasant and charming way, said Joe Facciolo on Facebook.

"To prevent more tragedies like this on the Sea to Sky Highway, you should consider signing this."

The petition calls on Todd Stone, the minister of transportation and infrastructure, to place a concrete barrier on the highway in Lions Bay to prevent vehicles from crossing the centre median.

"Yet again there has been an accident on Nov 1st, 2015 with serious injuries in Lions Bay as a result of lack of a proper barrier," said petition creator David Tompkins on the webpage.

Crash shut down highway

The accident happened just before 5 p.m. PT on November 1, and shut down the roadway for hours. 

The driver of the other car was taken to hospital with minor injuries and has since been released.

Investigators are examining whether "speed relative to the road conditions" was a factor in the driver of the Honda losing control.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Squamish RCMP at 604-892-6100. 

Google Map: Highway 99, Lions Bay