Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) at Nelson House has set up a GoFundMe crowdfunding page to raise money to pay for the wake and funeral costs of Keethan Lobster, 13, Mattheo Moore-Spence, 11, and Terrence Spence, 11, who were killed when they were hit by a vehicle driven by an alleged drunk driver along Highway 620 north of Nelson House April 28.
“As many people have asked what they can do to help, a GoFundMe page has been set up to accept donations for the family and the community,” said a statement from NCN Chief Marcel Moody and council on the First Nation’s website regarding the GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/3-young-lives-lost-nelson-house-mb), which had raised more than $47,000 of its $100,000 goal in one day as of May 2. “The funds will be used to help with wake and funeral costs for the three families and to build safe bike trails and obtain lighting at the site where the children died as a memorial to them.”
All three victims were walking or biking along the road at the time that they were killed.
NCN’s chief and council also announced that, effective May 1, alcohol will be temporarily banned in the community and that community safety officers will enforce it through checkstops and will destroy all alcohol seized, the CBC reported.
The CBC also said that Todd Norman Linklater, the 27-year-old driver of the vehicle that hit the three boys, who fled on foot after the collision before turning himself in to RCMP about 90 minutes later, has a previous conviction for impaired driving. He faces nine charges, including three charges of impaired driving causing death.
