Kellie Verwey was planning a wedding, expanding her thriving business and tirelessly serving the community of Portage La Prairie before her life was cut short in an alleged impaired driving collision Wednesday.
Police have charged James Lorne Hilton, 24, in connection to the crash that killed the 28-year-old bride-to-be. He’s charged with being impaired and driving a stolen truck that veered into oncoming traffic on Highway 26.
The tragedy has united Verwey’s friends, family and community, who are demanding accountability from the justice system — which they say failed to protect her.
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Kellie Verwey with her fiance Travis Lundy. Verwey was killed in a collision on Highway 26 on Wednesday morning.
“Kellie touched everyone’s life that she came in to. She was outgoing, an organizer, a doer and she had a helper’s heart,” her mother, Meechelle Best, told the Free Press.
“She was killed by someone who never should have been out on the road, and there needs to be a stop put to allowing these people to disrupt the rest of society and take the lives of people who are contributing.
“This can’t happen to other people. It’s happened to too many.”
Hilton, who RCMP say fled from the scene, was a wanted man. Mounties had issued a warrant for his arrest Jan. 9, after he repeatedly violated bail conditions from a previous offence, RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre confirmed.
Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox sent a letter on Friday to senior government officials that calls for bail reform, strengthened warrant enforcement and the prioritization of public safety.
“This loss has shaken our city to its core, and it demands immediate attention and action,” Knox wrote in the three-page letter, addressed to Premier Wab Kinew, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe and federal Justice Minister Arif Virani, among others.
“This is a systemic failure, plain and simple, and it cost an innocent young woman her life… We demand a justice system that prioritizes the safety of law-abiding citizens over the convenience of leniency for repeat offenders,” Knox said.
“This loss has shaken our city to its core, and it demands immediate attention and action.”–Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox
The letter said Verwey worked as a tourism co-ordinator for Portage, where she was a driving force behind initiatives that showcased the city.
Wiebe, who had spoken to Knox, said the province is working to improve public safety through community consultations and investments in key enforcement programs, including a $3-million ankle-monitoring program that is being expanded into rural areas.
“We’ve been clear that we are calling on the federal government to re-evaluate the (bail) reform that they’ve undertaken and to continue to prioritize the safety of communities first,” he told the Free Press.
Travis Lundy, Verwey’s fiance, described her as a “kind, caring and bubbly person.”
The couple met around five years ago and moved to the hamlet of High Bluff, located 10 kilometres east of Portage, in June 2022. They had booked the local community hall for their wedding social in April, and were set to get married in their backyard in June, he said.
Verwey spent the night before she was killed planning a bachelorette party with her girlfriends, who were going to treat her to a shopping weekend south of the border, her mother said.
Her daughter had tried on her wedding dress, and Lundy and his groomsmen were planning to pick up their suits in the coming weeks, Best said.
Lundy said Verwey “wanted to be a mom in the worst way,” and the pair were looking ahead to their life together.
“Everything was in order,” Best said, her voice breaking. “And now, I don’t get to see her in her wedding dress and I don’t get to celebrate her children with her and her beautiful husband, Travis.”
On the day of the collision, Verwey was driving from High Bluff to her grandmother’s home in Portage. Her grandfather, Ferris MacDonald, had died Monday and she was helping to prepare a slideshow of treasured family photos for his funeral, Best said.
She was travelling westbound on the highway, about three kilometres east of Portage, around 10:50 a.m., when RCMP say Hilton — also headed westbound — drifted over the centre line, went into a ditch and rolled.
MICHALE BLUME / PORTAGE ONLINE NEWS
Verwey was on her way to her grandmother’s house to prepare a slideshow for her grandfather’s funeral.
Another truck, driven by a 21-year-old Portage man who was travelling eastbound, swerved to avoid Hilton and collided with Verwey’s SUV, police said.
The second victim was taken to hospital in stable condition and then released; Verwey died at the scene, RCMP said.
Known for being tenacious, whip-smart and bold, Verwey leaves behind an inspiring legacy for her community.
“She very, very likely would have been the mayor of Portage in another 10 years. That’s the kind of person she was,” said Ron Best, her stepfather.
“She had a very kick-ass, straightforward, no-nonsense approach to all aspects of her life,” her mother said. “She was going to be one of the community influencers of the next generation, without question.”
“She had a very kick-ass, straight-forward, no-nonsense approach to all aspects of her life.”–Meechelle Best
Kellie graduated with honours from the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba in 2019. During university, she studied in England and Iceland.
She and Lundy launched their business, Roasts and Toasts, in 2021. The mobile cocktail and coffee bar catered special events and weddings.
Last year, the company was recognized by the Portage La Prairie Chamber of Commerce, when the couple was presented with an Outstanding New Entrepreneur of the Year award.
When she wasn’t serving her community, spending time with her family or “dropping everything in a moment” to help people in need, Kellie enjoyed listening to country music, travelling and spending time outdoors, Lundy said.
She will be remembered for how she lived, not how she died, but Lundy hopes the tragedy will change the way the justice system handles repeat offenders, he said.
“I’m going to miss my best friend. I can’t get her back, but I want there to be a change from this, some kind of justice brought in Kel’s honour,” Lundy said.
In July 2024, when Hilton pleaded guilty to drug possession in Selkirk, court heard he had three grams of meth, cannabis and opioid pills in his possession when he was picked up by RCMP.
His lawyer told provincial court Judge Tony Cellitti he was not a daily drug user, but had been struggling with substance use. He wasn’t working, and was in the process of moving out of his ex’s place, with whom he shares a daughter who was three at the time.
Hilton was given a six-month conditional discharge and unsupervised probation.
That same day, he was charged with break-and-enter. He was arrested in September for alleged trespassing, possessing tools for break and enter and failing to comply with his curfew.
He was charged with violating his release conditions on Dec. 14, 17, 31 and Jan. 1.
— With files from Erik Pindera
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
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