A note expressing a wish to commit suicide was found in the wallet of one of the two teenagers who drowned at an area lake during a post-graduation party last spring, a coroner has said in reports on the deaths.
Craig Allen Wood, 19, and Kendall Gabriella Catherine Moore, 17, died during the early morning hours of May 18 when the vehicle they were occupying went into Kwitzil Lake, more commonly known as Gravel Pit Lake, just off Highway 16 about 40 kilometres west of Prince George.
The note, which was found on Wood, "was undated, and it is not clear when it was written," said coroner Nola Currie who concluded he intentionally drove the vehicle into deep water.
A witness who had spoke to Wood moments before the incident said Wood was in a low mood and made explicit comments about committing suicide.
"He expressed feelings of jealousy and distress surrounding his relationship with Kendall, stating he wanted to 'end it all,'" Currie said.
Believing he had talked Wood into a better mood, the friend left the conversation. But seconds later, Wood was behind the wheel and drove the vehicle up a slight incline, over a ledge and down an embankment into the lake.
About a half hour to 90 minutes before, Moore, who had been drinking alcohol and consuming ecstacy according to the report, said she was not feeling well and had asked if she could sleep for awhile in the back of the vehicle.
A toxicological analysis of Wood indicated a moderate to high level of intoxication on a mixture of alcohol, cocaine and ecstacy, leading Currie to conclude substance use was a contributing factor.
Currie said Wood had expressed a history of suicidal ideation but had never been assessed for a mental health illness.
"He had struggled with schoolwork and left high school in Grade 10," Currie said. "In the months preceding his death, he had stayed with various friends and had been observed to be increasing his consumption of alcohol and illicit drugs. Friends reported that he had expressed and implied suicidal ideation during this period."
Prior to the incident, Wood was driving erratically and doing doughnuts in the area, prompting others to intervene and take away a set of keys. But it turned out they were not the actual keys to the vehicle.
Wood was found in the driver's seat with his back against the driver's door and his legs extended across the passenger seat with the vehicle's keys in his right hand. Moore was found lying prone over the back seat with her legs in the rear hatch area.
"There was no evidence of braking on scene," Currie said. "A baton-type tool was located inside his jacket which could have been used in an attempt to break the windows and free the occupants from the vehicle; there was no indication that any such attempts took place."
