When Erin Rae Smith and Lindsey Hauck got in the car to grab coffees for their fellow nurses at Vernon Jubilee Hospital it was a night just like any other.
The nurses often took turns grabbing coffee for each other, but this trip changed their lives forever.
While on their coffee run, an alleged drunk driver ran through a red light and smashed into the women.
“Erin was killed and Lindsay was seriously injured. She had a head injury, a broken arm and internal injuries,” says friend and hospital co-worker Tabatha Dunnill who vividly remembers that night in the hospital.
The accident sent shock-waves through the community as friends and family grieved Smith's death and worked to help Hauck survive.
Hauck is a young single mother and while she was working as an Licensed Practical Nurse at VJH, she was also in school to become a Registered Nurse to provide for her family. The accident changed all of that, leaving Hauck in hospital for weeks followed by months of going from doctors appointment to doctors appointment.
“Lindsey has suffered from a whole list of physical and emotional injuries that she is still recovering from,” says Dunnill.
Because Hauck was a casual on-call LPN, she was not entitled to any benefits, sick days or paid time off after the accident.
This lack of income and work would have been a massive burden for the nurse and her daughter but the community stepped in and continues to do so.
Shortly after the accident, a fundraiser website was created raising over $23,000 for the young mom, and the fundraising continues.
This Saturday night, Jan. 31, friends, family and nurses are throwing a party in her honour to get Hauck out of the house for the first time since the accident.
“She is going to be there and she is really, really excited. Lindsay is so excited to be able to just have a party where everyone can come and be together and celebrate.”
In honour of their favourite holiday their fundraiser party will have a Halloween-esque sugar skull theme.
“The week of the accident was Halloween, as well as Lindsay's birthday so she missed celebrating both,” explains Dunnill. “Halloween is her absolute favourite holiday and it was Erin's as well and they had some big plans they never got to do.”
The sugar skull theme also has a special meaning.
“One of the reasons we picked the sugar skull is because shortly before the accident Erin had given Lindsay a sugar skull figurine, it was something they both really liked.”
Vernon's Elk Lodge will be hosting the event free of charge. Guests can expect performances from four different bands (Linda-Sue Wilson Band, Foreman's Basement, The Bone, and Organized Chaos), food, drinks, dancing and a silent auction to raise money for the deserving nurse and mom.
“We want everyone to be able to come out,” adds Dunnil. “We don't want Lindsay to have to worry about anything so she can just focus on healing.”
The community has donated thousands of dollars for the event including the hall, food, entertainment and a long list of silent auction items.
Tickets are $25 and they hope to have a sell out event. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by contacting Dunnill at [email protected] or Michelle Brown at [email protected].
Charges are still pending for the woman accused of driving drunk and crashing into the nurses.
RCMP Spokesman Gord Molendyk states he is confident charges for impaired driving causing death will be laid against the Vernon woman who was behind the wheel. However, it will take time for RCMP to fully investigate the accident, according to Molendyk.