A Squamish man with deep ties to Whistler has inspired major support from across the corridor since a devastating car accident earlier this month that left him with a litany of serious injuries and a long path to recovery.
According to friends, 34-year-old Adam Haubrich was driving home from Whistler Dec. 9 when he was struck by another vehicle head-on near Daisy Lake, before being T-boned by another car and eventually being pushed into a nearby guard rail. Squamish RCMP in a release said nine people in four vehicles were involved in the crash, with all surviving. Three of the vehicles were not driveable due to the damage. Police also noted that while the investigation is ongoing, impairment has been ruled out as a factor.
“I don’t know how we can make the Sea to Sky [Highway] safer, but the amount of accidents and close calls on it are way too frequent,” wrote fiancée Cassie Kentwell in a message to Pique.
Haubrich, who has lived off and on in Whistler since 2008 but currently calls Squamish home, suffered a number of serious and potentially life-threatening injuries in the crash, including multiple skull and facial fractures, a brain bleed, a blown eardrum, eight fractured ribs, a fractured sternum, three spinal fractures, and a compound fracture of his femur, according to friends. Currently at Vancouver General Hospital, Haubrich has already undergone a surgery to insert rods into his leg as well as facial reconstruction surgery.
Needless to say, Haubrich faces a long and arduous road to recovery. A house painter by trade, it is estimated it will be at least a year before he is able to work again, and his fiancée, Kentwell, is also taking time off work to care for him.
A GoFundMe set up by family friend Jessie Morden has already surpassed its $20,000 target by a wide margin. At press time, it has raised more than $50,000 to go towards Haubrich’s medical and recovery costs.
“It’s completely overwhelming and the response has been unbelievable,” said Morden, who noted donations have come from as far away as Texas after a couple with ties to the state assisted Haubrich on the scene in the aftermath of the accident. “You’re seeing these donations for $5, $10, $15; these are small amounts and it’s so amazing because you know that people don’t have much extra money and the extra money they do have they’re giving to him.”
Along with the financial burden, Haubrich and his fiancée will have to relocate from their three-floor townhome in Squamish into Kentwell’s mom’s one-level condo in Whistler after he gets out of hospital.
The couple was also due to be married in Mexico this March, which is now likely to be postponed.
The outpouring of support at a time of year when the purse strings are tight for many goes to show the positive impact Haubrich has had on those who know and love him.
“Adam is one of the funniest, nicest [people who] wants the best for everyone around him. He brings smiles to every single person he crosses paths with. Even through all this, he hasn’t lost that touch,” Kentwell said.
Sadly, this month’s crash wasn’t the couple’s first accident on the Sea to Sky Highway. In 2016, Kentwell suffered a broken back in a devastating crash that required surgery. Haubrich was in another accident just weeks before the Dec. 9 crash that left him hospitalized when a driver ran a stop sign and struck his vehicle, causing a concussion and other minor injuries, Morden said.
“This is happening all too often. There’s an accident almost every day on the Sea to Sky Highway and it’s from negligence, quite frankly,” she added. “So don’t text and drive, don’t drive if you’re tired and don’t speed, because it’s someone’s life. Adam didn’t deserve this. No one deserves it. You’re ruining a life.”
Donate to Haubrich’s recovery at gofundme.com/f/adams-path-to-recovery.
This story has been updated since publication to include information on the accident from the Squamish RCMP.
