B.C. first responders say serious crashes take toll [Video]

Just days into the new year, officials are already pleading with British Columbians to follow the rules of the road.

Last year – like every year, sadly – was a deadly one on the roads in the Lower Mainland.

The RCMP’s Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service responded to more than 75 fatal crashes and more than 80 crashes causing serious or life-altering injuries in the Lower Mainland, according to Cpl. Dave Noon, a member of the local ICARS team.

“These incidents are more than numbers,” Noon said in a social media post Thursday.

“Each one represents shattered lives, devastated families and immeasurable shock and grief.”

He also highlighted the impact attending these calls has on first responders, a concern echoed by Brian Twaites, a paramedic public information officer for BC Emergency Health Services.

“We go to these MVIs where people are killed or seriously injured, and seeing them on …