Charlene Reaveley and Lorraine Cruz, two women killed in a hit-and-run accident last year, will be remembered at a roadside memorial service this Saturday in Coquitlam.
Several lanes along the Lougheed Highway near Pitt River Road will be closed off while friends, neighbours, family and the public pay their respects at the scene of the crash to mark the one year anniversary of the deaths.
"We are doing the memorial and family and friends will be on the road," said Dan Reaveley, Charlene's husband and father of their four children. "Anybody that wants to show their support is welcome to come out and do that."
In February 2011 Reaveley and her husband Dan stopped to assist a couple, Cruz and her boyfriend, Paulo Calimahin, who had just been involved in a minor accident.
Both women were struck and killed and Calimahine was seriously injured by a driver who fled the scene. The vehicle was later found in the Cape Horn area and a short time later, Cory Sater, a 37-year-old Coquitlam resident, was arrested and charged with two counts of impaired driving causing death and one count of impaired driving causing bodily harm.
Initial delays in the court proceedings against Sater have raised the possibility that the case could be one of thousands thrown out due to backlogs in the justice system.
Earlier this week Sater's lawyer, Tony Serka, told the CBC that while he hasn't decided whether he will ask the judge to stay the proceedings because of unreasonable delays, it is something he is considering.
"It was too long," he told reporters. "An unreasonable delay [stay of proceedings] is a fundamental right... that may or may not be the question in the Sater case.
Serka did not return calls to the Tri-City News before deadline. Sater's trial is expected to begin in early 2013.
Dan Reaveley said hearing the possibility that a trial in the Sater case may never take place only adds to the anger he and his family feels toward the justice system.
"The frustration is more toward the whole system than just one lawyer," he said. "That guy is just doing his job. If there is a loophole obviously they are going to exploit it."
Since his wife's death Reaveley has spent much of his time with his children and running the Charlene Reaveley Children's Charity Society.
The organization was setup in the wake of Charlene's death to help families with the financial burden that can often come with the unexpected loss of a family member.
The society offers connection and funding for grief counsellors to families and children and immediate financial support to help cover costs from lost income and time away from work.
The memorial will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday February 18. For more information about he Charlene Reaveley Children's Charity Society go to www.crccs.ca.
