A 24-year-old Kenyan woman is feared dead after a vehicle plunged into a river in Canada in what friends described as a tragic accident linked to unfamiliar driving conditions.
The woman, identified as Benina Jepkoech, reportedly drowned after the car she was driving veered into the North Thompson River in Kamloops, British Columbia — around 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver — on Sunday evening, May 17.
According to reporting by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), emergency crews were called shortly after 6:30pm following reports that a vehicle had entered the river.
A 21-year-old passenger who was inside the car at the time of the incident was rescued from the water and survived.
Friends of the deceased have since spoken of their heartbreak, revealing that Jepkoech had only recently started learning how to drive in Canada after moving from Kenya roughly a year ago.
Speaking to CBC after identifying her friend, Jacinta Mugo said Jepkoech had visited her house shortly before the incident alongside another friend to borrow a blow dryer.
Mugo explained that Jepkoech later suggested taking the wheel herself despite having limited experience driving in Canada.
“She wanted to eventually buy a car for herself, and she had not been driving — she’d never driven here in Canada before,” Mugo told CBC.
According to Mugo, the difference in road rules between Kenya and Canada may have contributed to the fatal incident.
While motorists in Kenya drive on the left-hand side of the road, drivers in Canada keep to the right — something Mugo believes may have caused Jepkoech to panic while driving along Schubert Drive, a two-lane roadway.
“I think due to the panic … she accidentally turned all the wheels to the right, facing the river,” she said.
“And then instead of probably pressing on the brakes, she pressed on the gas, and that’s when the car flew and plunged into the river.”
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the Kenyan community in Canada, with friends describing Jepkoech as hardworking and ambitious.
Reports indicate she had been balancing jobs at two hotels while building a new life abroad.
As search efforts continued, Mugo emotionally added: “We are ready for any outcome, whether she’s alive, whether she’s not, we just want her to be found.”
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