Dad who lost daughter in crash calls for drivers to be safer on the roads

One Sunday in October, Scott Komus was on vacation, sitting with his wife in a Boston restaurant, when he got a phone call no parent wants to get.

His daughter, 26-year-old Marlene Komus, had been killed in a head on collision near St. Norbert, Man.Her vehicle collided with a car travelling the wrong direction on the highway.

Police believespeed, alcohol and distracted driving were likely factors.

• 'It's devastating': Family mourns daughter who died in head-on collision just before her birthday

"It's the worst thing that can happen is to get that news. It changes your life," Komus said.

"It's like not only did our daughter die, but it's like we died, too. It's like we're in some kind of a limbo state."

Now, Komus is calling on Manitobadrivers to be safer on the roads: no texting, no drinking, no distractions.

"It's the message that everybody's receiving for years and years, and I think most people, nowadays, more than in the past, are more and more conscious of that," he said.

"But there is always going to be a segment of the population that is just not going to get the message."

106 fatalities this year

As of Dec. 3, 106 people have died on roads in the province. RCMP worry that unless something drastic changes, Manitoba is on track to see a record number of fatalities this year.

• 105 have died in crashes on Manitoba roads in 2016

This year's count has already well exceeded2015's total of 80 fatalities all year.

"Everybody thinks it won'thappen to them and it probably won't," Komus said.

"I think what's happened to us is like winning the lottery that nobody wants to win. But you have loved ones, you've entered that lottery, and it just could happen to you."

Komus said some people will never take his advice, so he wants to see technological solutions developed to prevent those individuals from getting behind the wheel.

"You can make it so the cellphone won't work in a car, and you can make it so the car won't work if the driver is over .08 [blood alcohol percentage]," he said.

"That will save lives. It definitely will save lives."