Osoyoos mother and grandmother Elaine Dean said she’s worried someone is going to be seriously injured, or worse, if teenagers and young people of all ages are allowed to continue jumping off the bridge that separates the north and south sides of Osoyoos Lake. Teenagers have been ignoring the warning signs posted on the bridge for years. The Town of Osoyoos doesn’t have a bylaw prohibiting the activity. Dean said she’s not against youngsters having fun, but believes they would be better off engaging in far less dangerous activities at the town’s many beaches and playgrounds. Photo by Mathew White.
An Osoyoos grandmother is worried a youngster is going to be seriously injured – or worse – unless something is done to prevent teenagers from jumping off the bridge that separates the north and south sections of Osoyoos Lake.
Elaine Dean, who moved to Osoyoos five years ago and is the mother of four children, a grandmother to eight and a great grandmother of two, said she had to voice her concerns after reading last week’s story in the Osoyoos Times about the tragic, accidental death of Marco Corbin, 18, who was killed instantly when he was hit by a boat while out tubing with friends on Aug. 16, 2011.
“I read the article about the young teenager killed and how devastating that has been for that family and I just don’t want something like that to happen again,” said Dean. “I would hate to see another family have to go through what that family has had to go through.”
Since she moved to Osoyoos, Dean said she has observed teenagers – and those even younger and a few older – standing near the bridge and jumping 20 metres into the lake below.
With the tremendous amount of boat traffic that is on Osoyoos Lake during the peak tourist months, Dean believes it’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens.
“I’ve noticed these kids on the bridge from the time I moved here five years ago and it just seems to be getting busier and busier and there are more and more kids jumping off that bridge,” she said. “If we now have bylaw officers and police officers down patrolling our beaches to keep the transients away, I think we can have them pay a regular visit to ensure these kids aren’t jumping off that bridge.
“I know kids will be kids and they just want to have some fun, but I’ve watched a lot of them over the years and I don’t think a lot of them have any idea how fast some of these boats can come storming under the bridge. I just think it’s an accident waiting to happen and I would hate to see anyone get killed or seriously injured because I think it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens there.”
Dean said she came forward last week after observing a group of teenagers lifting up a young child, she estimated to be six or seven years old, who appeared willing to toss the youngster into the lake.
While she didn’t see if the child was thrown into the water, the fact there are so many watercrafts on the lake and many children aren’t strong swimmers terrifies her, said Dean.
“It’s a very busy lake and there are so many of these kids jumping into the water, I’m very worried something terrible is going to happen,” she said. “I’m not against children having fun, but I think these kids should be swimming at the beach and not jumping off the bridge, especially when there are so many boats and seadoos out there.”
The reality is teenagers are willing to take risks to try and have fun and impress their peers and Dean hopes and prays no one gets seriously hurt from jumping off the bridge.
A sign warning people to stay off the bridge and not jump into the lake below has been defaced and ignored for many years, she said.
“There are so many kids there on some days, it’s just very chaotic and busy and I don’t know if these kids are paying attention,” she said. “As I’ve said, I would just hate to see something terrible happen there … I certainly know I wouldn’t allow any of my grandchildren to be on that bridge and jumping into the lake with all the boat traffic going through there.”
Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells said youngsters have been jumping off that bridge dating back to when he was a child and there has only been one serious incident he can recall when someone jumped into a passing boat.
“It was a number of years ago and they jumped into the boat and ended up with several broken bones, as did one of the passengers in the boat,” he said.
While he certainly respects Dean’s concerns and opinions, the reality is there are so many kids jumping off that bridge it would take a steady police presence for more than 12 hours a day to prevent it, he said.
“You would have to have someone there virtually non-stop,” he said.
The Ministry of Transportation did a redesign of the bridge several years ago to “make it less friendly” for youngsters to gather and jump off the bridge, he said.
There also isn’t any town bylaw prohibiting the practice of gathering on the bridge or jumping into the lake, so those who do so aren’t breaking any laws, he said.
