GoFundMe launched for family of teen who died in Cobble Hill crash: ‘Far too young’

GoFundMe launched for family of teen who died in Cobble Hill crash: 'Far too young'
Photo: Nevaeh Wittneben/Facebook
A family friend says Nevaeh Wittneben, 16, of Sooke died in a single-vehicle crash near Cobble Hill on Sunday.

Donations are pouring in on GoFundMe for the family of a Sooke teen who died in a fatal collision in Cobble Hill over the weekend.

On Sunday around 7 a.m., Shawnigan Lake RCMP responded to the Trans-Canada Highway near Cobble Hill following a single-vehicle crash involving a driver and one passenger.

The vehicle, a Nissan sedan, was travelling northbound when the passenger side hit a left-turn signal, according to police. The car then slid about 100 metres down the highway before striking a barrier.

Paramedics took the driver to hospital with serious injuries, while the passenger, confirmed to CHEK News as 16-year-old Nevaeh Wittneben of Sooke, died as a result of the crash.

An RCMP officer was flagged down shortly after the incident, and fire crews were also called to the scene, police said in a subsequent news release.

Drew Dell, mom to Wittneben’s brother’s girlfriend, launched a GoFundMe on Monday and in less than a day, nearly $6,000 was raised from around 90 donors.

“It’s very comforting to know that strangers in our community can pull together when one family is suffering a devastating tragedy,” Dell told CHEK News.

“I’m proud to be part of this loving community.”

Some donors also posted condolences, like Shelbie Olsen, who said, “She’ll live forever in the hearts she touched.”

Dell says the funds collected will go to Wittneben’s family, including her mother and father, so they can take time to grieve and not have to worry about living expenses. 

“They need all the time they can to grieve and heal and we as a community can help them,” Dell wrote on the GoFundMe page. “The pain that Nevaeh’s parents and twin brother are going through is hard to comprehend.”

Wittneben was loved by all and “far too young to leave this world,” explains Dell.

“Nevaeh’s twin brother was at my house when he received the call that his sister didn’t survive a car accident on her way up snowboarding. That call would forever change his life,” she added.

“After rushing him home to his dad it was clear this wasn’t a dream, it was the worst unimaginable pain a parent could go through.”

On Sunday, a 4.2-kilometre stretch of highway between Cobble Hill and Fisher roads was closed for several hours as investigators examined the crash scene. At the time, detours were southbound via Cobblehill Road and northbound via Hutchinson Road East.

“If anyone witnessed or captured dashcam footage of the scene and has not yet spoken with police, please contact investigators as soon as possible,” said Sgt. Chris Manseau, media relations officer for RCMP, in the release issued Monday.

Shawnigan Lake RCMP can be reached at 250-743-5514.

The GoFundMe can be found here.

(DriveBC said the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy. 1) was closed in both directions Sunday following the single-vehicle crash. Photo screenshot: DriveBC)

Ethan MorneauEthan Morneau

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