Crash victims remembered

Christopher Gautreau

Alexia Gautreau

Kiarra Gautreau

Wheel Staff

The Foothills community is mourning the loss of five people who were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit from behind at the intersection of Macleod Trail and 194th Avenue in Calgary by a cement truck early Friday evening.
Christopher Gautreau, 41, of Okotoks, and his daughters, Alexia, 9, and Kiarra, 6, were killed. Gautreau’s girlfriend, Melaina Hovdebo, 33 and her 16-month-old son, Zachary Morrison also died in the collision. Zachary’s father lives in Okotoks.
Gautreau was a former chef at the Black Diamond Hotel and was working at the Okotoks Sobeys when he died. He met Hovdebo at Sobeys, where she also worked.
David Gilbert, Sobeys owner, said Gautreau had worked at the store for a couple years, while Melaina had been there since June.
Gautreau worked the morning shift from 3 a.m to 11 a.m. and had been in the food industry for years; he was a fit in the store’s bakery, Gilbert said.
“Chris was a very hard working guy,” said Gilbert. “He was very dependable – a hard working guy. He was part of the team.
Gilbert said Hovdebo was well liked by the rest of the staff at the store.
“She was a very bright and positive person and really had a nice zest for life,” he said.
Gilbert said it would take time for Sobeys staff to get over the news of the accident.
“It’s hard to understand the magnitude of it… The whole thing is so horrific,” he said. “Each person is dealing with it on their own.”
At the Black Diamond Hotel, where Gautreau spent a few years employed as a cook, co-workers remember him fondly as both a family man and as someone who put a smile on the face of everyone he met.
Lori Green, manager of the Black Diamond Hotel, said she was devastated when she received the news of Friday’s tragedy. On Saturday several hotel workers came in to discuss what had happened and to reminisce over the good times shared with Gautreau. Having worked with him during his tenure as a cook, Green said she would never forget Gautreau’s jovial and outgoing personality.
“He was wonderful to work with. He always made work fun, he really did,” Green said. “He was always joking around.”
Both Gautreau and his ex-wife Previna worked at the hotel, often in separate shifts. With the two starting and finishing at different times, Green said patrons and co-workers got to know their daughters when they would come in to the café with one of their parents.
Dave McLeay, a maintenance worker at the hotel, said Gautreau was one of his best friends.
He fondly remembers getting to know Gautreau and his family through work, staff parties and other social gatherings.
“The kids just loved everybody. Any time I went over to their house they couldn’t wait until I got my coat off and I sat down and they’d climb on my knee.”
Percy Pegler School principal Kathryn Strilchuk said the school has lost some of its spark with the passing of Alexia and Kiarra.
“Alexia was a little spark,” Strilchuk said of the Grade 5 student. “The kids at the school said she was just so full of life.
She was the kind of girl that if she fell down, she would bounce right back up.”
Strilchuk added Alexia was full of energy and loved playing soccer — and wouldn’t think twice about playing her favourite sport with the boys on the Percy Pegler playground.
Kiarra, a Grade 1 student, shared her older sister’s love of life, but was a bit more reserved and quieter.
“She was a good friend — kind to everybody,” Strilchuk said. “Kiarra was a real smiler.”
Strilchuk said the Foothills School Division’s critical response team has been at the school all day to help students and staff with any counselling if needed.
The students at Percy Pegler have been encouraged to write down their memories of Kiarra and Alexia.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the girls’ mom and their relatives and friends,” Strilchuk said.
She added any students who were upset and wanted to go home, they were allowed to do so, with their parents’ consent.
Further counselling with Alberta Mental Health will also be made available to staff and students if needed.
The driver of the cement truck, Daniel Tschetter, 50, of Cochrane has been charged in connection with the fatal collision. Tschetter has been charged for refusing to give a breath sample and five counts of dangerous driving causing death.
Friends of the Gautreau family have created a trust account in Previna Gautreau’s name, mother of the two children who died in the car accident, for those who wish to make donations.
The trust account, which has been set up at the Okotoks Scotiabank, will assist with funeral costs and other needs the family may experience. The Okotoks Scotiabank located at 201 Southridge Drive.
Photos of Hovdebo and Morrison were not available.

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