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Charges laid in 2016 Mission crash that killed Langley teenager

Lidia Ramos died when the car she was riding in slipped off a logging road in heavy rain
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Grieving mom Angela Ramos, (right) holds a picture of her daughter Lidia who died in a car crash on a logging road in Mission on March 5, 2016. A 23-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm. Monique Tamminga Langley Times

Two years after a crash on a logging road near Mission claimed the life of Langley teenager Lidia Ramos, charges have been laid against the vehicle’s driver.

Jacob Ross Blanthorne, 23, has now been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

Lidia’s mom and other family members attended Abbotsford Provincial Court on Thursday to be a presence for Lidia.

But Blanthorne didn’t show up, said Lidia’s mom Angela. A bench warrant for his arrest was issued on Feb. 5, but was re-issued Feb. 22.

Lidia was supposed to celebrate her sweet 16th birthday the week she died in a crash along a logging road in Mission, on March 5, 2016.

Lidia, who was in Grade 10 at Brookswood Secondary, had told her mom she was sleeping over at a friend’s house, but instead went to a bonfire party near Stave Falls in Mission.

There was a torrential downpour at the time of the crash — around 1 a.m. The vehicle slid 15 feet down an embankment and came to rest with its roof against a tree, said Mission RCMP at the time.

The impact of the crash was greatest on the driver’s side, where Lidia was sitting in the backseat, said her mom.

The driver, who was then a 21-year-old Langley man, had reportedly lost control on the muddy switchbacks before sliding off road. At the time, Mission RCMP said speed was believed to be a factor.

Lidia died at the scene. The 16-year-old Langley youth sitting beside her was left in a coma. He suffered several broken bones and other injuries, but survived.

Both the driver and the front-seat passenger, a 19-year-old man from Surrey, suffered upper body injuries and were taken to hospital.

Near the one year anniversary of Lidia’s death, the Ramos family and their friends started a campaign called #Justice for Lidia on change.org. At the time, Angela Ramos said she was upset that no charges had been laid and that the driver had never tried to reach out to her.

READ: Family and friends want #JusticeforLidia



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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