Man collapses behind wheel, wife steers RV to safety

Two couples were returning to their homes in Canada Wednesday after a family reunion in the U.S., when the driver of the RV they were traveling in apparently suffered a heart attack behind the wheel.

According to sheriff's chief deputy Rich Stephens, Joseph Prefontaine, 74, Red Deer, Alberta, slumped over while driving and his wife, Gertrude, took control of the vehicle from the passenger seat.

“She did a phenomenal job,” he said. “She not only avoided on-coming traffic, but took the RV off the road in the safest place possible at that location.”

Witnesses saw the RV veer off Highway 95 near milepost 503, just south of Wagon Wheel Road, and called dispatchers at 7:12 a.m.

The RV, traveling north, crossed the south lane, left the road and went down a steep embankment, riding on two wheels for a short time before side-swiping a tree and then hitting another tree head on, bringing the vehicle to a stop.

EMTs found Joseph unconscious behind the wheel and immediately initiated CPR and transported him to Boundary Community Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. His wife and the couple riding with them were shaken, but suffered only minor injuries. They were also transported to the hospital, where they were treated and released.

Former Bonners Ferry Police Chief Dave Kramer, who knows their son, RCMP Officer Pat Prefontaine, met the families at the hospital, and took them to his home until Pat and a sister from Oregon arrived to take them home. Pat served many years in Creston, B.C., before being reassigned to Cranbrook.

“It's pretty amazing the accident wasn't a lot more serious,” Stephens said.