Mother, Daughter Die After Van Plunges Off Ferry Loading Ramp

NANAIMO, British Columbia - A minivan carrying six people plunged off a ramp into Departure Bay yesterday morning while trying to board a ferry. A woman and one of her daughters died, officials said.

The accident happened during loading of the Queen of New Westminster, which was scheduled to sail to Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver.

The minivan fell off a B.C. Ferry Corp. loading ramp into the water as the ferry pulled away from the dock, said Staff Sgt. Wayne Legge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Officials described the occupants as a mother and father, their two daughters and a friend, and the daughters' grandmother. They were taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

The mother, Lorraine Askew, in her early 40s, and an 11-year-old daughter, Tara Leigh Askew, died, hospital spokeswoman Anya Pugach said. The second daughter, Dawn Askew, 14, was airlifted from Nanaimo to Children's Hospital in Vancouver in critical condition, Pugach said.

The father, Bruce Askew, in his early 40s, and Shawna Regnier, a 10-year-old girl who was a family friend, were listed in satisfactory condition. A grandmother of the Askew children, Shirley Brown, in her early 60s, was treated and released, Pugach said.

The Askews are from Edson, Alberta, and the grandmother from Nanaimo, officials said.

B.C. Ferry Corp. suspended service in and out of Nanaimo after the accident. The Queen of New Westminster returned to its berth in Nanaimo, about 57 miles northwest of Victoria.

Workers later removed the van wreckage.

B.C. Ferry Corp., a government-owned company, said in a statement that the van "went over the upper car deck and into the water."

The deck crew, including the ship's three senior officers, was replaced pending an investigation. The ferry system said there was no sign of mechanical failure.

A witness, Peter Fensslien, said the ferry appeared to slowly move away.

"Either the driver shouldn't have tried to drive on at the time, or the ferry moved early," said the North Vancouver resident.

"It was a lack of communication, I guess," said Don Campbell of Port Coquitlam, a witness.