Parents of Shea Fright, Winnipeg woman killed in Highway 207 crash, speak out
The parents of Shea Fright, a Winnipeg woman who was killed by an impaired driver on Highway 207 last month, are speaking publicly about the loss of their daughter and urging motorists not to drink and drive.
Kelly and Leah Fright fought back tears as they talked on Monday about the day their 29-year-old daughter died.
Shea Fright was driving in the early morning hours of June 26 — decompressing after a night working at the Royal Manitoba Yacht Club in West St. Paul before going home — when her car was struck by a pickup truck on the highway six kilometres west of Lorette, Man.
Kelly Fright said he and his wife had stayed awake to make sure their daughter got home safely.
"We had talked to her and texted her off and on from about two o'clock until about four o'clock in the morning," he said.
"Shea's last text was, 'I'll be home in 20 minutes.' She never made it."
RCMP were called to the crash shortly before 5 a.m. Fright was pronounced dead at the scene.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with impaired driving and several other offences in connection with the collision.
"My daughter paid the ultimate price — ultimate for being an innocent person coming home," Kelly Fright said, his voice breaking.
In the month since the crash, the family started attending Mothers Against Drunk Driving meetings.
'People have to be more mindful'
Leah Fright said losing her daughter is bigger than anything the family can handle.
"The heartache and sadness that was at that meeting was just heart-wrenching," she said.
"It's a message that people have to be more mindful. They have to go with a plan. They have to think before they plan their events. The most important thing to think about is how they're getting home safely."
Manitoba RCMP say 161 people died on Manitoba roadways between 2011 and 2015 due to impaired driving crashes, and another 17 have already been killed this year. The Traffic Injury Research Foundation estimates that 884 people died in alcohol-related collisions in Canada in the year 2009 alone.
Leah Fright described her daughter as a "super-friendly, happy, great individual who loved her friends and family very deeply."
One of Shea's friends, Lacey Boyle, described her as an amazing person.
"She's so caring," she said. "If you're having a bad day, she's the person you can go to and it turns that day around instantly."
A group of Fright's best friends are planning an event at Reign Nightclub for July 29 to remember her and to raise money for MADD and her family.
Organizers said they hope to promote the importance of drinking responsibly, as well as push for stronger laws and sentencing against those who drink and drive.
Correction : Shea Fright was on her way home from her job at the Royal Manitoba Yacht Club in West St. Paul, not from working at a Winnipeg bar.(Jul 26, 2016 10:26 AM)
