Traffic was re-routed on Hwy. 101 for about seven hours while police investigated the scene of an accident where 64-year-old Hayden Raymond (Ray) Jenkins of Roberts Creek was killed Saturday afternoon.
"Basically we determined that a car was travelling southbound and [Jenkins] turned abruptly in front of the vehicle," Cpl. Larry Burden told Coast Reporter.
Jenkins was travelling on his electric bicycle when he tried to cross the highway near the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club in Roberts Creek.
According to Burden, a family driving southbound in a light blue car hit Jenkins at about 12:30 p.m. Although emergency services were called immediately, Jenkins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Debbie Walker of Translucent Film and Video Services Ltd. was waiting for Jenkins to arrive at her home in Roberts Creek when the accident happened. She said she had a feeling something was wrong.
"I was worried and then I heard about the accident," Walker said, who had just finished Jenkins' biography to help him promote himself as an artist.
"Ray was a fabulous sculptor and he had some commissioned pieces on the Coast like the whale at the pier in Roberts Creek," Walker said. She noted the public piece has been vandalized many times, and Jenkins planned to replace it with a bronze statue this year.
Jenkins was born in Toronto and grew up in Montreal. After being inspired by Jack Kerouac's novel On The Road, he embarked on his own odyssey, one that took him across Canada, through the United States to Mexico, up the eastern seaboard and eventually back to Quebec.
He spent time living with two Cree families halfway up Hudson Bay working on a commission to acquire Native art.
"It was here, in Canada's remote North, that he fully established his sense of connectedness with the natural world. He ate roast porcupine and caribou, wore hand-made animal skin pants, carved antlers and found that exquisite art could be crafted from the most basic of tools and materials. It was also here that he found deep meaning and an added layering to what he was trying to express with his work," his recently completed bio stated.
Jenkins settled on the Sunshine Coast after years of travelling and made Roberts Creek his home, inspired by the natural beauty of the area.
Jenkins will be remembered for his compassion, free spirit and faith in humanity. He will be sadly missed by his son, grandson, brother and many nieces as well as his friends and extended family in Roberts Creek.
Jenkins wished to replace his wooden whale sculpture with a bronze replica. In lieu of flowers, his family is asking for donations toward the bronze sculpture.
There will be a celebration of life ceremony for Jenkins at the Roberts Creek Legion on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m.
