‘People we love are being killed’: family of pregnant teacher killed in B.C. crash pleads for safe driving

The family of a kindergarten teacher from Kelowna, B.C. killed in a devastating crash on the Trans-Canada highway is pleading with drivers to practice safe driving.

Thirty-one-year-old Tayah Lloyd was a passenger in a westbound Toyota Tacoma when it was struck by an eastbound GMC pickup that crossed the centre median east of Chilliwack Saturday morning.

Lloyd was five months pregnant and a beloved kindergarten teacher at Kelowna’s Anne McClymont Elementary School.

Lloyd’s 29-year-old husband Justin, who was driving at the time, and the 46-year-old driver of the eastbound pickup remain in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

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Justin’s mother, Wanda Lloyd, says her son remembers the accident vividly.

“It was just horrific. Unfortunately, his recollection is very good and he actually remembers seeing the car coming at them and him slamming on his brakes and trying to swerve out of the way,” she said from Justin’s hospital bedside on Tuesday.

“All he was worried about what Tayah and the baby and he just kept asking for her and the baby.”

Lloyd says her son hasn’t been able to fully grasp the magnitude of the loss of his wife and unborn child.

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“It’s just been extremely hard, extremely hard on him. I don’t think he’s 100 per cent grasped it either. I think the hardest part is still to come for him,” she said.

Lloyd read a prepared statement to Global News that encouraged drivers to practice safe and attentive driving, saying “people we love are being killed.”

This is the full statement from Tayah’s family:

“Tayah is a wonderful woman who loves life, nature, children and her husband. Justin is totally devastated by this. Tayah was very proud to be a teacher and that love for children is now transferred to the excitement of becoming a mom. On weekends you would often find Justin and Tayah off quadding, mountain biking, and just enjoying the lovely outdoors, nature and its beauty. We would really like to pass along a message to every driver, please drive safe, pay attention, people we love are being killed. Words cannot express the loss for loved ones. We appreciate the love, kindness and concern from family, friends and strangers, and also, we will miss Tayah’s lovely little giggles.”

-With files from John Hua