The Coast is grieving the loss of a young Halfmoon Bay man this week, 24-year-old Daniel Scoular, who was killed May 1 in an automobile accident near Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shilo in Manitoba, where he was stationed.
The well-known and well-loved local man died tragically when the SUV he was travelling in with three other soldiers left the road and became submerged in a creek just east of Brandon. The accident happened at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 1.
The driver of the vehicle lost control on a slippery and snowy bridge. The SUV hit the guardrail and went over the side, landing on its roof in Willow Creek, according to an RCMP report.
Scoular, who was a private in the army, and his friend Pte. Brayden MacLachlan of Port Dover, Ont. died at the scene. Cpl. Yannick Wright of Toronto died the following morning due to injuries suffered in the accident. The fourth soldier in the vehicle was still in hospital with non-life threatening injuries at press time.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Daniel, Brayden and Yannick, and our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to their families," said the men's commanding officer Lt.-Col. Shane Schreiber. "They were excellent soldiers, friends and young men, and they will be very much missed by their comrades in the regiment."
Scoular was a member of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and was in the middle of a three-year basic training program at CFB Shilo.
His father Brian said his son always knew he wanted to join the military.
"He had his mind made up for his direction in life when he graduated from school, and he was following his direction and doing well at what he wanted to accomplish," Brian said.
He noted his son will be remembered as "a great man" and will be missed very much by the close-knit family.
"Daniel was really close to his family and his family was close to him on both sides," he said. "He was just a good, all-around person, and that's why he has so many friends and family who cared for him so much. His best friends were not just people he wasn't related to. His best friends were also his cousins, and these are the people he spent most of his time with, because that's the way this family is."
The family will be holding a funeral for Scoular on Monday, May 9, at 2 p.m. at the Sechelt Indian Band Hall.
