A devoted mother of two was killed in front of her daughter when a small plane making an emergency landing crashed into her car on a British Columbia highway.
Alex Garneau, a proud “hockey mom” from Prince George, British Columbia, was driving with her daughter Josie on Thursday afternoon when the twin-engine Beech King Air 200 struck their vehicle. The 47-year-old mother died at the scene while Josie walked away “most unharmed,” a family friend said on Facebook.
The plane, operated by Sekani Air, was carrying six passengers and two crew members when one of its engines lost power. The pilot was forced to attempt the emergency landing on Highway 97, roughly 13 miles short of Prince George airport. None of the eight people aboard the aircraft were injured.
“It was absolutely unbelievable,” fellow driver Jaime Pawliuk told CBC of the plane shattering his sunroof.
“It’s something you only see in movies.”
Pawliuk was one of four drivers whose vehicles were struck by the descending aircraft. He recounted his narrow escape in harrowing detail.
“All of a sudden it was on top of me,” he recalled. “I tried to swerve as much as I could to get into the ditch, but unfortunately I was only able to make it just a little ways before the wing just sheared the entire top of my vehicle off and showered me with glass.”
“I have superficial cuts all in my hands. I have glass still in my hair,” he added.
Pawliuk said he feels lucky to have been “able to walk out of it.”
Mohit Arora, another driver caught in the chaos, claimed one of the plane’s propellers nearly struck his car.
“It just stopped like 10 feet ahead from my car. I am so lucky that the fan and the blades did not hit my car,” he said.
Ten people were assessed for injuries at the scene, with two hospitalized in stable condition.
Garneau’s death has devastated the tight-knit Prince George community where she was a fixture behind the scenes of youth sports. Her two children, Josie and son Jackson, both play hockey — a passion their mother supported tirelessly.
“She was the kind of person who was behind the scenes of almost every team and activity her kids were part of. She made the drive,” her friends said in an online fundraiser paying tribute to the devoted mother.
“She organized. She cheered. She made things happen. Her children are both incredible people and hockey players, and she had big dreams for them and the lives they will lead,” they continued.
The fundraiser, established to support Garneau’s grieving family, painted a vivid portrait of a woman defined by her generosity of spirit.
“Alex was the friend who always had your back, the person you knew would show up when you needed her the most. She had a way of making people feel like they belonged all while having so much fun.”
“For some of us, she offered something that is difficult to find: family. She didn’t need to have known you your whole life to make you feel like you belonged in hers. She made room for people, and she supported them.”
In the viral moment that preceded this outpouring of grief, a routine Thursday afternoon drive turned catastrophic when the Sekani Air charter plane descended onto the busy highway. The Beech King Air 200, a twin-engine turboprop commonly used for regional transport, lost power in one engine before the pilot could reach the airport. The aircraft clipped multiple vehicles before coming to rest, with its propellers and wings inflicting damage that miraculously killed only one person — though that single death left a family shattered and a community mourning.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has launched an investigation that could take months to complete. The final crash report will examine why the engine failed and whether the emergency landing could have been executed differently.
Garneau leaves behind husband Jordan, daughter Josie, and son Jackson.