Shelley Klassen says her 10-year-old son Lionel and his best friend since kindergarten were “super excited” on a hot, sunny Saturday to spend the afternoon tubing on the waters off Cates Park in North Vancouver.
“We thought it was a great, fun day for the kids,” said the grieving mother over the phone on Monday — while she and the family come to grips with Lionel’s death when the inflatable raft they were being towed on was hit by a speed boat, a catastrophic crash that also left his friend in critical condition.
North Vancouver RCMP say the driver of the boat that hit them was arrested and released on conditions until an Aug. 27 court date, and police allege speed and alcohol are likely factors.
Klassen said they thought they did their “due diligence” and knew the family well who were towing the boys behind their boat. “The mother was an experienced boater and she had taken the kids out many times… It was going to be a great day of fun out on the water.
“We did not think in a million years something like this would happen.”
Klassen said the boys and the adults with them were due home around 9 p.m. When they failed to show up, she texted, then called the other boy’s mother.
“She answered the phone, but she was incoherent,” said Klassen. “She couldn’t tell me, she just was mumbling and crying, and saying, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.’”
After frantically calling 911 and hospitals, Klassen and her husband, Jason Hall, were told police were coming to see them. Their youngest child was dead.
“We’ve been told that he was killed on impact, thank god,” said Klassen. “I’m praying that he didn’t see it coming and he went out joyfully.”
Lionel’s parents say he took the slightly younger boy under his wing early in their school days. “Lionel always kept his best friend close to him,” said Hall. “He was generous of heart like that. He always tried to take care of everybody.”
“He was that kid where everybody loved him, and he was always for the underdog,” said Klassen. “He was full of life and light, he was that guy, joyful, dancing, non-stop funny, great sense of humour,” she said. “We were so ridiculously blessed to have him.”
Klassen and Hall say Lionel’s friend is not doing well. They’ve been told he has a brain injury and several skull and limb fractures. “He’s in an induced coma and he’s non-responsive,” said Klassen.
Klassen said Lionel was a budding sports phenom who liked everything, including track, rugby and soccer, but especially soccer. “He got to see Lionel Messi play when he came (to Vancouver). He got to go to the game.”
Police say the investigation continues. “We expect to forward charges at a later date,” said RCMP Cpl. Mansoor Sahak on Monday.
After the collision, many people reported seeing a speed boat that matched the description of the vessel that police towed — a Scarab 33 cigarette boat — speeding around Indian Arm that day.
Just after 6 p.m., John Belisle and his wife were in their kayaks when they spotted a boat leaving Deep Cove at speeds of about 80 km/h. It was initially beside with another watercraft, said Belisle, and he wasn’t sure if they were racing or travelling together. But within seconds, the Scarab left the other boat behind in its wake.
“We’ve never seen a boat going at that speed that close to shore,” he said. “We were just dumbfounded.”
Belisle and his wife visually followed the boat until it disappeared around the bend as it approached Cates Park. “Both of us were going ‘I hope that person doesn’t get a kayaker.’”
They paddled along, enjoying the busy waterway on a sunny and warm spring evening. Then, about 20 minutes later, they heard sirens pierce the air.
Police have not identified the operator of the boat, but friends and acquaintances who know him told Postmedia the man is a 38-year-old North Vancouver resident, and an avid boater.
He also likes riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles and knows how to fly helicopters.
At the time of the crash, the man was with his girlfriend, a male friend and a fourth person.
Parents Klassen and Hall say they’re telling Lionel’s two older siblings the family must “live big” now, as Lionel did.
“We were telling them, this is for us to live big and be big, and not shrink and crumble,” says Klassen. “We’ve got him under our wings, he is still with us. He is the biggest, brightest light and we are always still connected.
“He wants us to go big, and we’re going to do it. We’re going to be strong as a family and we’re going to live the best lives we can live.”
An
online fundraiser
set up by friends of Klassen and Hall to cover funeral expenses for Lionel and help support the family have raised more than $44,000 on Tuesday morning.
