The BC Coroners Service is investigating 19 deaths that happened in a five day period after a deadly week on provincial highways.

In a safety reminder to residents and visitors, the Coroners are asking people to be careful while on the roads, noting 12 of the 19 deaths that happened between last Friday, July 5, and Wednesday, July 10 were in the Interior.

“We know there are far-reaching impacts, as family and friends across the province, and beyond, mourn the loss of their loved ones,” Acting Chief Coroner John McNamee said.

“While so many of us look forward to summer trips, unfortunately, statistics show the risk of deadly motor-vehicle crashes is much greater in July, August and September.”

Early Thursday morning, July 11, a woman was killed after she was ejected from a vehicle along Highway 99 in Surrey. Two other people who were in the vehicle were injured and taken to the hospital.

Later that same day, two people were killed in a crash on Highway 1 near Boston Bar.

Four people from the same extended family were killed in a crash between two cars and a semi in Keremeos on Wednesday. Also on July 10, a 70-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a single-vehicle crash along Golden Ears Way in Pitt Meadows.

A family of three, including a baby, died in Agassiz on the Lougheed Highway early Tuesday morning, July 9, while another three people died when their vehicle went over an embankment in Wilmer, north of Invermere, on Tuesday night.

The Coroners also say a single-vehicle incident in Mission claimed a life on July 8, while another four people were killed last Friday in a crash in the West Kootenays on Highway 6.

The statement from the Coroners says 331 people died in a motor-vehicle incident in the province last year, with 45 of those in July, 32 in August, and 33 in September.

“Between 2013 and 2023, more than one-third of MVI deaths were reported to have happened on roadways in the Interior Health region and a quarter in the Fraser Health region,” the statement said.

The BC Coroners Service is encouraging drivers to wear seat belts, to follow the speed limit, and to not drive while distracted or impaired by drugs or alcohol.

“The coroners’ investigations into the deaths of those involved in collisions this week are ongoing and no further details may be shared until they have been completed,” the statement added.