Coreen Gay Thomas was 21 and nine months pregnant when she was hit and killed by a car while walking home along Highway 16 near Vanderhoof in 1976. A member of Saik’uz First Nation, she had been celebrating a local anniversary and was returning with friends when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Richard Redekop, who later admitted to drinking. Despite witness contradictions and evidence of speeding, her death was ruled accidental. No charges were laid.
Although Coreen is not officially recognized among the cases in the Highway of Tears investigation, which tracks missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls along the Highway 16 corridor, her death reflects many of the same troubling patterns: racial bias, inconsistent policing, and justice denied.
Her cousin Larry Thomas was also killed by a vehicle on the same road two years earlier, also with no legal consequences. Witnesses in Coreen’s case later said they were pressured by RCMP to shift blame onto her.
Today, Coreen’s story continues to be shared as part of the broader movement seeking justice for Indigenous women lost along Highway 16 and a system that too often fails them.
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