Holly Indridson, 38, joined a club no one wanted to join.
She is another parent who has lost a beloved child to mindless violence in Surrey.
“I’ve been through so much loss, and this one, it shattered my will to live, but I had to live, you know,” she said, less than three days after the death of her 17-year-old son Ethan Bespflug Stabbed to death April 11 while riding a bus in the 9900 block of King George Blvd.
Before Tuesday night, Ethan had never complained about riding the bus or the light rail when he texted that he was being scared and threatened by other passengers.
“He and his friends would take the bus and light rail, they’d ride downtown, they’d go to Brentwood Mall, they’d go to Metrotown, and they used it to explore their surroundings and their world, just Like teenagers would. I don’t think he felt unsafe at any point, and this happened on the bus…” Abbotsford resident Indridson’s voice trailed off.
Starting with Prime Minister David Eby, authorities expressed outrage over the killing of her son and pledged to step up police patrols on public transport in the wake of the incident.
“I wish they had more security,” Indridson said of this. “When I was young, maybe 17, there was a security guard or a transit police officer on the bus.
“I thought there would be more,” she said.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn at the unrelated presses Friday in Surrey,
“I’m angry, we’re really angry, I’m frustrated, I’m troubled by these events, every single day as a parent of two kids who ride the bus, I worry,” he said. “We will not allow criminals or people who want to commit crimes into our system.”
TransLink chief executive Kevin Quinn went “off the script” on violence on public transport at a press conference in Surrey on Friday. pic.twitter.com/6gHxQUwi1y
— Tom Zitaruk (@tomzytaruk) April 14, 2023
“I would say, as a father, I am particularly devastated by the stabbing death of a teenager on one of our buses, and our sincere condolences go out to the family of that young man,” Quinn said.
“Our traffic police have stepped up patrols in crime hotspots and the upcoming addition of 24 community safety officers will allow police to focus even further on fighting crime. We are always looking for new ways to improve traffic safety and I want to emphasize that , if anyone feels our system is unsafe, they should call the traffic police at 87-7777 anytime immediately.”
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn had more to say about the recent violence on public transit. pic.twitter.com/JdUVBXAxTx
— Tom Zitaruk (@tomzytaruk) April 14, 2023
Indridson said the two GoFundMe campaigns will help her surviving children and help Ethan rest in peace. by Friday afternoon, a setting Her sister-in-law Andrea Van Der Gracht has raised $19,485 and a Another aunt, Daphni Miller, had raised $16,931 as of Friday afternoon.
“Lots of support and people who messaged me, I didn’t know them, but other mothers who messaged me, family, friends, people I haven’t been in touch with since high school, it’s just amazing how the community comes together together, but I just hope it’s not the case,” Indridson said. “I can feel it, I know Ethan is smiling because that’s what he wants in this situation, for his family not to feel alone, to feel loved and supported.”
Her young children “were devastated.
“My children are all very close, they get along very well, there is a huge age gap between some of them. They are connected in such a way, for me, it is a kind of magic to watch them together feeling, and Ethan is the biggest piece of the puzzle.”
Homicide detectives are getting in touch with her.
As of this writing, the suspect has not been identified.
“They were trying not to overwhelm me,” she said of the police. “I’ve asked everybody not to tell me anything because I can’t handle it, you know. So they come over and they tell me everything’s fine. For me, that’s all I can accept at this point because I Don’t want it to be real. I’m shocked.”
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